Apparatus and methods facilitating the use of financial transactions in a virtual environment

ABSTRACT

This disclosure includes systems which generate a video game or other virtual environment, and institutions and transactions of a financial nature are facilitated by the video game. Some types of financial transactions may be guaranteed, such as by real world financial devices including credit cards.

This application is a continuation-in-part of each of the following U.S.patent applications, and each of the following applications isincorporated herein by reference:

U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/368,143, entitled “Video GameMethods and Systems” filed Mar. 3, 2006;

U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/421,025, entitled “FinancialInstitutions and Instruments in a Virtual Environment”, filed May 30,2006;

U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/694,669, entitled “Virtual.Environment with Formalized Inter-Character Relationships”, filed Mar.30, 2007; and

U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/621,880, entitled “Video GameIncluding Child Character Generation Using Combination of ParentCharacter Attributes,” filed Jan. 10, 2007.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a system 10 according to one embodiment ofthe present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a system 100 according to one embodiment ofthe present invention.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a system 200 according to one embodiment ofthe present invention.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a system 300 according to one embodiment ofthe present invention.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a system 400 according to one embodiment ofthe present invention.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of a system 500 according to one embodiment ofthe present invention.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram of a system 600 according to one embodiment ofthe present invention.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram of a system 700 according to one embodiment ofthe present invention.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram of a system 800 according to one embodiment ofthe present invention.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram of a system 900 according to one embodimentof the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following sections I-X provide a guide to interpreting the presentapplication.

I. Terms

The term “product” means a machine, manufacture and/or composition ofmatter, unless expressly specified otherwise.

The term “process” means a process, algorithm, method or the like,unless expressly specified otherwise.

Each process (whether called a method, algorithm or otherwise)inherently includes one or more steps, and therefore all references to a“step” or “steps” of a process have an inherent antecedent basis in themere description of a process, or in the mere recitation of the term‘process’ or a like term. Accordingly, any reference in a claim to a‘step’ or ‘steps’ of a process has sufficient antecedent basis.

The term “invention” and the like mean “the one or more inventionsdisclosed in this application”, unless expressly specified otherwise.

The terms “an embodiment”, “embodiment”, “embodiments”, “theembodiment”, “the embodiments”, “one or more embodiments”, “someembodiments”, “certain embodiments”, “one embodiment”, “anotherembodiment” and the like mean “one or more (but not all) embodiments ofthe invention”, unless expressly specified otherwise. Two or moredescribed embodiments may or may not be mutually exclusive. The merefact that two embodiments are described, or that two embodiments aredescribed in proximity to each other or in conjunction with each other,does not imply that the two embodiments are mutually exclusive. Adescribed embodiment may or may not be strictly narrower than andencompassed by another described embodiment. The mere fact that twoembodiments are described, or that two embodiments are described inproximity to each other or in conjunction with each other, does notimply that one of the embodiments is strictly narrower than andencompassed by the other embodiment.

The term “variation” of an invention means an embodiment of theinvention, unless expressly specified otherwise.

A reference to “another embodiment” in describing an embodiment does notimply that the referenced embodiment is mutually exclusive with anotherembodiment (e.g., an embodiment described before the referencedembodiment), unless expressly specified otherwise. Similarly, the merefact that two (or more) embodiments are referenced does not imply thatthose embodiments are mutually exclusive.

One embodiment of the invention may cover or embrace more than one otherembodiment of the invention. For example, a first embodiment comprisingelements a, b, and c may cover a second embodiment that compriseselements a, b, c, and d as well as a third embodiment covering elementsa, b, c, and e. Similarly, each of the first, second, and thirdembodiments would cover a fourth embodiment comprising elements a, b, c,d, and e.

The terms “including”, “comprising” and variations thereof mean“including but not necessarily limited to”, unless expressly specifiedotherwise. Thus, for example, the sentence “the machine includes a redwidget and a blue widget” means the machine includes the red widget andthe blue widget, but may possibly include one or more other items aswell as another example, the sentence “Examples of machines include acomputer and a motor” means that one example of a machine is a computer,another example of a machine is a motor, and there may be other examples(e.g., things that are neither computers nor motors may nevertheless bea machine)

The term “consisting of” and variations thereof mean “including and alsolimited to”, unless expressly specified otherwise. Thus, for example,the sentence “the machine consists of a red widget and a blue widget”means the machine includes the red widget and the blue widget, but doesnot include anything else.

The term “compose” and variations thereof mean “to make up theconstituent parts of, component of or member of”, unless expresslyspecified otherwise. Thus, for example, the sentence “the red widget andthe blue widget compose a machine” means the machine includes the redwidget and the blue widget.

The term “exclusively compose” and variations thereof mean “to make upexclusively the constituent parts of, to be the only components of, orto be the only members of”, unless expressly specified otherwise: Thus,for example, the sentence “the red widget and the blue widgetexclusively compose a machine” means the machine consists of the redwidget and the blue widget (i.e. and nothing else).

The indefinite articles “a” and “an” and the definite article “the”refer to “one or more” of the noun modified by that article, unlessexpressly specified otherwise. Thus, for example, the phrase “a widget”means one or more widgets, unless expressly specified otherwise.Similarly, after reciting the phrase “a widget”, a subsequent recitationof the phrase “the widget” means “the one or more widgets”. Accordingly,it should be understood that the word “the” may also refer to a specificterm having antecedent basis. For example, if a paragraph mentions “aspecific single feature” and then refers to “the specific singlefeature,” then the word “the” should be understood to refer to thepreviously mentioned “a specific single feature.”

The term “plurality” means “two or more”, unless expressly specifiedotherwise.

A “set” of things (e.g., a set of widgets) may include one or more ofthose things (e.g., one or more widgets), which are members of the set.Whether the set includes a particular item as a member is synonymouswith whether a set includes the particular item.

A “subset” of things (e.g., a subset of widgets) may include one or moreof those things. A subset does not imply that there must be in thesubset fewer things than in some other set of things. A subset of aparticular set may include some or all of the members of the set.

A reference to a “plurality” (and like terms such as “at least one”,“one or more”, “set” and the like) has inherent antecedent basis for the“number” of things included in the plurality (or in the set, etc.). Forexample, in the phrase “receiving a plurality of commands”, there isinherent antecedent basis for “the number of commands”. For example, inthe phrase “receiving a set of commands”, there is inherent antecedentbasis for “the number of commands”.

The term “herein” means “in the present application, including anythingwhich may be incorporated by reference”, unless expressly specifiedotherwise.

The phrase “at least one of is equivalent to “one or more of”, and wheneither such phrase modifies a plurality of things (such as an enumeratedlist of things), such phrase means any combination of one or more ofthose things, unless expressly specified otherwise. For example, thephrase “at least one of a widget, a car and a wheel” means either (i) awidget, (ii) a car, (iii) a wheel, (iv) a widget and a car, (v) a widgetand a wheel, (vi) a car and a wheel, or (vii) a widget, a car and awheel. The phrase “at least one of”, when such phrase modifies aplurality of things does not mean “one of each of” the plurality ofthings. For example, the phrase “at least one of a widget, a car and awheel” does not mean “one widget, one car and one wheel”.

Numerical terms such as “one”, “two”, etc. when used as cardinal numbersto indicate quantity of something (e.g., one widget, two widgets), meanthe quantity indicated by that numerical term, but do not mean at leastthe quantity indicated by that numerical term. For example, the phrase“one widget” does not mean “at least one widget”, and therefore thephrase “one widget” does not cover, e.g., two widgets.

The phrase “based on” does not mean “based only on”, unless expresslyspecified otherwise. In other words, the phrase “based on” covers both“based only on” and “based at least on”. Therefore, the phrase “basedon” is equivalent to the phrase “based at least on” and is alsoequivalent to the phrase “based at least in part on”. For example, thephrase “element A is based on element B and element C” coversembodiments where element A is calculated as the product of B times C(in other words, A=B×C) and where A is calculated as the sum of B plus C(in other words, A=B+C).

The term “represent” and like terms are not exclusive, unless expresslyspecified otherwise. For example, the term “represents” does not mean“represents only”, unless expressly specified otherwise. For example,the phrase “the data represents a credit card number” covers both “thedata represents only a credit card number” and “the data represents acredit card number and the data also represents something else”.

The term “whereby” is used herein only to precede a clause or other setof words that express only the intended result, objective or consequenceof something that is explicitly recited before the term “whereby”. Thus,when the term “whereby” is used in a claim, the clause or other wordsthat the term “whereby” precedes do not establish specific furtherlimitations of the claim or otherwise restrict the meaning or scope ofthe claim.

The terms “e.g.”, “such as” and like terms mean “for example”, and thusdo not limit the term or phrase they explain. For example, in thesentence “the computer sends data (e.g., instructions, a data structure)over the Internet”, the term “e.g.” explains that “instructions” are anexample of “data” that the computer may send over the Internet, and alsoexplains that “a data structure” is an example of “data” that thecomputer may send over the Internet. However, both “instructions” and “adata structure” are merely examples of “data”, and other things besides“instructions” and “a data structure” can be “data”.

The term “time”, when used as a determined quantity, means any sort oftime (e.g., time of day, day of week, date, year) on which one or morethings are determined to Occur.

The term “period of time” means any sort of duration (e.g., number ofseconds, number of minutes, other durations) of one or more things.

The term “good” generally refers to anything which may be provided inexchange for money or other value, and thus “good” includes services,rights and items, whether tangible or intangible.

The term “respective” and like terms mean “taken individually”. Thus iftwo or more things have “respective” characteristics, then each suchthing has its own characteristic, and these characteristics can bedifferent from each other but need not be. For example, the phrase “eachof two machines has a respective function” means that the first of thetwo machines has a function and the second of the two machines has afunction as well. The function of the first machine may or may not bethe same as the function of the second machine.

Similarly, in the phrase “for each of the plurality of widgets,determining a respective price of the widget, a reference to “thewidget” in that phrase means the “determining” step is applied to(performed for) each widget of the plurality of widgets. The phrase “therespective prices of the plurality of widgets” thus means the set whichincludes as members each respective price of the plurality of widgets.

The term “i.e.” and like terms mean “that is”, and thus limits the termor phrase it explains. For example, in the sentence “the computer sendsdata (i.e., instructions) over the Internet”, the term “i.e.” explainsthat “instructions” are the “data” that the computer sends over theInternet.

A numerical range includes integers and non-integers within the range,unless expressly specified otherwise. For example, the range “1 to 10”includes the integers from 1 to 10 (e.g., 1, 2, 3, 4, . . . 9, 10) andnon-integers (e.g., 1.1, 1.2, . . . 1.9). A range may be denoted asnon-inclusive explicitly, such as “the range of voltages from 2.5 voltsto 10.3 volts exclusive”, and such a range excludes 2.5 volts andexcludes 10.3 volts.

A range can be continuous or discrete. For example, the range “fromthree meters to five meters” is a continuous range. The range “integerranges from three meters to five meters” is a discrete range.

A range includes two ends, and each such end is, where the range isinclusive, a thing that is included in the range. Thus a rangeinherently has antecedent basis for the term “the ends”, and hasantecedent basis for the term “an end” and has antecedent basis for theterms “the first end” and “the second end”. Where the range is orderedor may be ordered (e.g., a range of integers that may be orderednumerically, a range of text that may be ordered alphabetically) therange includes ends that are distinguishable because of their respectiveordering. Thus a range that may be ordered has antecedent basis forterms that denote the place of the end in the ordering scheme (e.g., arange that can be numerically ordered has a “low end” and a “high end”).

When used to compare values (e.g., integers, fractions) which arecapable of being ordered with respect to each other, the phrase “notgreater than” is equivalent to “less than or equal to”. Similarly, thephrase “not less than” is equivalent to “greater than or equal to”.

In reference to a plurality of things (e.g., a plurality of widgets)superlatives, where a superlative may be applied to the plurality (e.g.,the largest widget of the plurality of widgets, the lowest price of theset of prices) and there is inherently antecedent basis for suchsuperlative.

For example, for a plurality of numbers, there is inherent antecedentbasis for the phrase “the greatest number of the plurality of numbers”,e.g., since numbers can be ordered from least to greatest and thus thegreatest number is readily and unambiguously ascertainable—the greatestnumber is that number of the plurality of numbers which is greater thanall other numbers of the plurality of numbers. Similarly, in anembodiment where there are two equal numbers, and both numbers aregreater than all other numbers in the plurality, then there are twogreatest numbers.

Where two or more terms or phrases are synonymous (e.g., because of anexplicit statement that the terms or phrases are synonymous), instancesof one such term or phrase does not mean instances of another such termor phrase must have a different meaning. For example, where a statementrenders the meaning of “including” to be synonymous with “including butnot limited to”, the mere usage of the phrase “including but not limitedto” does not mean that the term “including” means something other than“including but not limited to”.

II. Determining

The term “determining” and grammatical variants thereof (e.g., todetermine a price, determining a value, the determination of an objectwhich meets a certain criterion) is used in an extremely broad sense.The term “determining” encompasses a wide variety of actions andtherefore “determining” can include calculating, computing, processing,deriving, investigating, looking up (e.g., looking up in a table, adatabase or another data structure), ascertaining and the like. Also,“determining” can include receiving (e.g., receiving information),accessing (e.g., accessing data in a memory) and the like. Also,“determining” can include resolving, selecting, choosing, establishing,and the like.

The term “determining” does not imply certainty or absolute precision,and therefore “determining” can include estimating, extrapolating,predicting, heuristically “best guessing”, averaging and the like.

The term “determining” does not imply that mathematical processing mustbe performed, and does not imply that numerical methods must be used,and does not imply that an algorithm is used.

The term “determining” does not imply that any particular device must beused. For example, a computer need not necessarily perform thedetermining.

III. Forms of Sentences

Where a limitation of a first claim would cover one of a feature as wellas more than one of a feature (e.g., a limitation such as “at least onewidget” covers one widget as well as more than one widget), and where ina second claim that depends on the first claim, the second claim uses adefinite article “the” to refer to that limitation (e.g., “the widget”),this mere usage does not imply that the first claim covers only one ofthe feature, and this does not imply that the second claim covers onlyone of the feature (e.g., “the widget” can cover both one widget andmore than one widget). When an ordinal number (such as “first”,“second”, “third” and so on) is used as an adjective before a term, thatordinal number is used (unless expressly specified otherwise) merely toindicate a particular feature, such as to distinguish that particularfeature from another feature that is described by the same term or by asimilar term, but that ordinal number does not have any other meaning orlimiting effect—it is merely a convenient name. For example, a “firstwidget” may be so named merely to distinguish it from, e.g., a “secondwidget”. Thus, the mere usage of the ordinal numbers “first” and“second” before the term “widget” does not indicate any otherrelationship between the two widgets, and likewise does not indicate anyother characteristics of either or both widgets. For example, the mereusage of the ordinal numbers “first” and “second” before the term“widget” (1) does not indicate that either widget comes before or afterany other in order or location; (2) does not indicate that either widgetoccurs or acts before or after any other in time; and (3) does notindicate that either widget ranks above or below any other, as inimportance or quality. Thus, the mere usage of the ordinal number“first” does not indicate that there must be a “second”. For example,the use of the phrase “a first widget” does not imply that there be asecond widget. Accordingly, it would not be ambiguous or indefinite touse in a claim the term “a first widget” where no “second widget” isrecited in that claim (or in any other claim it depends on). The mereusage of the ordinal number “second” or greater ordinal numbers does notindicate that there must be a “first” or any lesser ordinal number. Forexample, the use of the phrase “a second plurality of widgets” does notimply that there be a first plurality of widgets. Accordingly, it wouldnot be ambiguous or indefinite to use in a claim the term “a secondplurality of widgets” where no “first plurality of widgets” is recitedin that claim (or in any other claim it depends on). A term which islabeled by an ordinal number is different than a term that is notmodified by any ordinal number. For example, in a claim a reference to“a green widget” and a reference to “a second green widget” means thatthere are references to different widgets and thus there is no ambiguityas to whether the second green widget is or is not a reference to thegreen widget. The mere usage of ordinal numbers does not define anumerical limit to the features identified with the ordinal numbers. Forexample, the mere usage of the ordinal numbers “first” and “second”before the term “widget” does not indicate that there are exactly twowidgets.

When a single device, article or other product is described herein, inanother embodiment more than one device or article (whether or not theycooperate) may alternatively be used in place of the single device orarticle that is described. Accordingly, the functionality that isdescribed as being possessed by a device may alternatively be possessedby more than one device or article (whether or not they cooperate) inanother embodiment.

Similarly, where more than one device, article or other product isdescribed herein (whether or not they cooperate), in another embodimenta single device or article may alternatively be used in place of themore than one device or article that is described. For example, aplurality of computer-based devices may be substituted with a singlecomputer-based device. (Conversely, a single computer-based device maybe substituted with multiple computer-based devices operating incooperation with one another.) Accordingly, the various functionalitythat is described as being possessed by more than one device or articlemay alternatively be possessed by a single device or article.

The functionality and/or the features of a single device that isdescribed may, in another embodiment, be alternatively embodied by oneor more other devices which are described but are not explicitlydescribed as having such functionality or features. Thus, otherembodiments need not include the described device itself, but rather caninclude the one or more other devices which would, in those otherembodiments, have such functionality or features.

IV. Disclosed Examples and Terminology are not Limiting

Neither the Title (set forth at the beginning of the first page of thepresent application) nor the Abstract (set forth at the end of thepresent application) is to be taken as limiting in any way the scope ofthe disclosed invention, is to be used in interpreting the meaning ofany claim or is to be used in limiting the scope of any claim. AnAbstract has been included in this application merely because anAbstract is required under 37 C.F.R. §1.72(b).

The headings of sections provided in the present application are forconvenience only, and are not to be taken as limiting the disclosure inany way.

Numerous embodiments are described in the present application, and arepresented for illustrative purposes only. The described embodiments arenot, and are not intended to be, limiting in any sense. The disclosedinventions are widely applicable to numerous embodiments, as is readilyapparent from the disclosure. One of ordinary skill in the art willrecognize that the disclosed invention may be practiced with variousmodifications and alterations, such as structural, logical, software,and electrical modifications. Although particular features of thedisclosed invention may be described with reference to one or moreparticular embodiments and/or drawings, it should be understood thatsuch features are not limited to usage in the one or more particularembodiments or drawings with reference to which they are described,unless expressly specified otherwise.

Though an embodiment may be disclosed as including several features,other embodiments of the invention may include fewer than all suchfeatures. Thus, for example, a claim may be directed to less than theentire set of features in a disclosed embodiment, and such claim wouldnot be interpreted as requiring features beyond those features that theclaim expressly recites.

No embodiment of method steps or product elements described in thepresent application constitutes the invention claimed herein, or isessential to the invention claimed herein, or is coextensive with theinvention claimed herein, except where it is either expressly stated tobe so in this specification or (with respect to a claim and theinvention defined by that claim) expressly recited in that claim.

Any preambles of the claims recite purposes, benefits and possible usesof the claimed invention only and do not limit the claimed invention.

The present disclosure is not a literal description of all embodimentsof the invention. Also, the present disclosure is not a listing offeatures of the invention which must be present in all embodiments.

All disclosed embodiments are not necessarily covered by the claims(even including all pending, amended, issued and canceled claims). Inaddition, a disclosed embodiment may be (but need not necessarily be)covered by several claims. Accordingly, where a claim (regardless ofwhether pending, amended, issued or canceled) is directed to aparticular embodiment, such is not evidence that the scope of otherclaims do not also cover that embodiment.

Devices that are described as in communication with each other need notbe in continuous communication with each other, unless expresslyspecified otherwise. On the contrary, such devices need only transmit toeach other as necessary or desirable, and may actually refrain fromexchanging data most of the time. For example, a machine incommunication with another machine via the Internet may not transmitdata to the other machine for long periods of time (e.g. weeks at atime). In addition, devices that are in communication with each othermay communicate directly or indirectly through one or moreintermediaries. Devices are in communication with one another if theyare capable of one-way communication with one another. For example, afirst device and a second device may be in communication with oneanother if the first device is capable of transmitting information tothe second device, and the second device is capable of receivinginformation from the first device.

A description of an embodiment with several components or features doesnot imply that all or even any of such components or features arerequired. On the contrary, a variety of optional components aredescribed to illustrate the wide variety of possible embodiments of thepresent invention. Unless otherwise specified explicitly, no componentor feature is essential or required.

Although process steps, algorithms or the like may be described orclaimed in a particular sequential order, such processes may beconfigured to work in different orders. In other words, any sequence ororder of steps that may be explicitly described or claimed does notnecessarily indicate a requirement that the steps be performed in thatorder. The steps of processes described herein may be performed in anyorder possible. Further, some steps may be performed simultaneouslydespite being described or implied as occurring non-simultaneously(e.g., because one step is described after the other step). Moreover,the illustration of a process by its depiction in a drawing does notimply that the illustrated process is exclusive of other variations andmodifications thereto, does not imply that the illustrated process orany of its steps are necessary to the invention, and does not imply thatthe illustrated process is preferred.

Although a process may be described as including a plurality of steps,that does not imply that all or any of the steps are preferred,essential or required. Various other embodiments within the scope of thedescribed invention include other processes that omit some or all of thedescribed steps. Unless otherwise specified explicitly, no step isessential or required.

Although a process may be described singly or without reference to otherproducts or methods, in an embodiment the process may interact withother products or methods. For example, such interaction may includelinking one business model to another business model. Such interactionmay be provided to enhance the flexibility or desirability of theprocess.

Although a product may be described as including a plurality ofcomponents, aspects, qualities, characteristics and/or features, thatdoes not indicate that any or all of the plurality are preferred,essential or required. Various other embodiments within the scope of thedescribed invention include other products that omit some or all of thedescribed plurality.

An enumerated list of items (which may or may not be numbered) does notimply that any or all of the items are mutually exclusive, unlessexpressly specified otherwise. Likewise, an enumerated list of items(which may or may not be numbered) does not imply that any or all of theitems are comprehensive of any category, unless expressly specifiedotherwise. For example, the enumerated list “a computer, a laptop, and aPDA” does not imply that any or all of the three items of that list aremutually exclusive and does not imply that any or all of the three itemsof that list are comprehensive of any category.

An enumerated list of items (which may or may not be numbered) does notimply that any or all of the items are equivalent to each other orreadily substituted for each other.

All embodiments are illustrative, and do not imply that the invention orany embodiments were made or performed, as the case may be.

V. Computing

It will be readily apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art that thevarious processes described herein may be implemented by, e.g.,appropriately programmed general purpose computers, special purposecomputers and computing devices. Typically a processor (e.g., one ormore microprocessors, one or more microcontrollers, one or more digitalsignal processors) will receive instructions (e.g., from a memory orlike device), and execute those instructions, thereby performing one ormore processes defined by those instructions. Instructions may beembodied in, e.g., one or more computer programs, one or more scripts.

A “processor” means one or more microprocessors, central processingunits (CPUs), computing devices, microcontrollers, digital signalprocessors, or like devices or any combination thereof, regardless ofthe architecture (e.g., chip-level multiprocessing or multi-core, RISC,CISC, Microprocessor without Interlocked Pipeline Stages, pipeliningconfiguration, simultaneous multithreading).

A “computing device” means one or more microprocessors, centralprocessing units (CPUs), computing devices, microcontrollers, digitalsignal processors, graphics card, mobile gaming device, or like devicesor any combination thereof, regardless of the architecture (e.g.,chip-level multiprocessing or multi-core, RISC, CISC, Microprocessorwithout Interlocked Pipeline Stages, pipelining configuration,simultaneous multithreading).

Thus a description of a process is likewise a description of anapparatus for performing the process. The apparatus that performs theprocess can include, e.g., a processor and those input devices andoutput devices that are appropriate to perform the process. For example,a description of a process is a description of an apparatus comprising aprocessor and memory that stores a program comprising instructions that,when executed by the processor, direct the processor to perform theprocess.

A computer readable medium can be in communication with a processor suchthat the processor can receive some or all of the instructions stored onthe computer readable medium. Likewise the processor can execute some orall of the instructions stored on the computer readable medium, and canexecute different instructions at different times.

Further, programs that implement such methods (as well as other types ofdata) may be stored and transmitted using a variety of media (e.g.,computer readable media) in a number of manners. In some embodiments,hard-wired circuitry or custom hardware may be used in place of, or incombination with, some or all of the software instructions that canimplement the processes of various embodiments. Thus, variouscombinations of hardware and software may be used instead of softwareonly.

The term “computer-readable medium” refers to any medium, a plurality ofthe same, or a combination of different media, that participate inproviding data (e.g., instructions, data structures) which may be readby a computer, a processor or a like device. Such a medium may take manyforms, including but not limited to, non-volatile media, volatile media,and transmission media. Non-volatile media include, for example, opticalor magnetic disks and other persistent memory. Volatile media includedynamic random access memory (DRAM), which typically constitutes themain memory. Transmission media include coaxial cables, copper wire andfiber optics, including the wires that comprise a system bus coupled tothe processor. Transmission media may include or convey acoustic waves,light waves and electromagnetic emissions, such as those generatedduring radio frequency (RF) and infrared (IR) data communications.Common forms of computer-readable media include, for example, a floppydisk, a flexible disk, hard disk, magnetic tape, any other magneticmedium, a CD-ROM, DVD, any other optical medium, punch cards, papertape, any other physical medium with patterns of holes, a RAM, a PROM,an EPROM, a FLASH-EEPROM, any other memory chip or cartridge, a carrierwave as described hereinafter, or any other medium from which a computercan read.

The term “tangible computer-readable medium” refers to a“computer-readable medium” that comprises a hardware component, such asoptical or magnetic disks, semiconductor memory (e.g., RAM, ROM, flashdrives, semiconductor hard drives). Therefore, for example, a tangiblecomputer-readable medium is not a carrier wave or an RF transmission.

Various forms of computer readable media may be involved in carryingdata (e.g. sequences of instructions) to a processor. For example, datamay be (i) delivered from RAM to a processor; (ii) carried over awireless transmission medium; (iii) formatted and/or transmittedaccording to numerous formats, standards or protocols, such as Ethernet(or IEEE 802.3), SAP, ATP, Bluetooth, and TCPorIP, TDMA, CDMA, and 3G;and/or (iv) encrypted to ensure privacy or prevent fraud in any of avariety of ways well known in the art.

A “user interface” is ‘used by’ a device, such as a computing device, toprovide outputs to a user and to receive inputs from a user. Forexample, the user interface may direct the device to display (orotherwise provide) certain outputs (as defined by the user interface),and allow inputs to be received from the user via the device. In anembodiment, in order for the device to generate the user interface, thedevice executes certain instructions, e.g., instructions to output dataand receive data as inputs. A user interface can include one or moreoutput controls which output data and/or one or more input controlswhich allow data to be received. A type of input control allows aselection of an option from among a plurality of options, and may allowonly one option to be selected, may allow one or more options to beselected, may allow that a predetermined number of options are selected,may allow that no options are selected. An input control may define theformat of type of input that may be entered. A control may function asboth an input control and as an output control.

A description of different capabilities of a user interface (e.g., bydescribing different embodiments of a user interface, by describingdifferent things that a user interface can do) does not mean that in allembodiments the user interface must include all such describedcapabilities. On the contrary, such description also supports anembodiment in which, e.g., a user interface has only one of thedescribed capabilities, and supports an embodiment in which a userinterface has a particular combination of less than all of the describedcapabilities.

A description of a process is likewise a description of acomputer-readable medium storing a program for performing the process.The computer-readable medium can store (in any appropriate format) thoseprogram elements which are appropriate to perform the method. Forexample, a description of a process is a description of acomputer-readable storage medium that stores a program comprisinginstructions that, when executed by a processor, direct the processor toperform the method.

Just as the description of various steps in a process does not indicatethat all the described steps are required, embodiments of an apparatusinclude a computer or computing device operable to perform some (but notnecessarily all) of the described process.

Likewise, just as the description of various steps in a process does notindicate that all the described steps are required, embodiments of acomputer-readable medium storing a program or data structure include acomputer-readable medium storing a program that, when executed, cancause a processor to perform some (but not necessarily all) of thedescribed process.

Where databases are described, it will be understood by one of ordinaryskill in the art that (i) alternative database structures to thosedescribed may be readily employed, and (ii) other memory structuresbesides databases may be readily employed. Any illustrations ordescriptions of any sample databases presented herein are illustrativearrangements for stored representations of information. Any number ofother arrangements may be employed besides those suggested by, e.g.,tables illustrated in drawings or elsewhere. Similarly, any illustratedentries of the databases represent exemplary information only; one ofordinary skill in the art will understand that the number and content ofthe entries can be different from those described herein. Further,despite any depiction of the databases as tables, other formats(including relational databases, object-based models and/or distributeddatabases) could be used to store and manipulate the data typesdescribed herein. Likewise, object methods or behaviors of a databasecan be used to implement various processes, such as those describedherein. In addition, the databases may, in a known manner, be storedlocally or remotely from a device which accesses data in such adatabase.

Various embodiments can be configured to work in a network environmentincluding a computer that is in communication (e.g., via acommunications network) with one or more devices. The computer maycommunicate with the devices directly or indirectly, via any wired orwireless medium (e.g. the Internet, LAN, WAN or Ethernet, Token Ring, atelephone line, a cable line, a radio channel, an optical communicationsline, commercial on-line service providers, bulletin board systems, asatellite communications link, a combination of any of the above). Eachof the devices may themselves comprise computers or other computingdevices, such as those based on the Intel® Pentium® or Centrino™processor, that are adapted to communicate with the computer. Any numberand type of devices may be in communication with the computer.

In an embodiment, a server computer or centralized authority may not benecessary or desirable. For example, the present invention may, in anembodiment, be practiced on one or more devices without a centralauthority. In such an embodiment, any functions described herein asperformed by the server computer or data described as stored on theserver computer may instead be performed by or stored on one or moresuch devices.

Where a process is described, in an embodiment the process may operatewithout any user intervention. In another embodiment, the processincludes some human intervention (e.g., a step is performed by or withthe assistance of a human).

VI. Continuing Applications

The present disclosure provides, to one of ordinary skill in the art, anenabling description of several embodiments and/or inventions. Some ofthese embodiments and/or inventions may not be claimed in the presentapplication, but may nevertheless be claimed in one or more continuingapplications that claim the benefit of priority of the presentapplication.

Applicants intend to file additional applications to pursue patents forsubject matter that has been disclosed and enabled but not claimed inthe present application.

VII. 35 U.S.C. §112, Paragraph 6

In a claim, a limitation of the claim which includes the phrase “meansfor” or the phrase “step for” means that 35 U.S.C. §112, paragraph 6,applies to that limitation.

In a claim, a limitation of the claim which does not include the phrase“means for” or the phrase “step for” means that 35 U.S.C. §112,paragraph 6 does not apply to that limitation, regardless of whetherthat limitation recites a function without recitation of structure,material or acts for performing that function. For example, in a claim,the mere use of the phrase “step of or the phrase “steps of” inreferring to one or more steps of the claim or of another claim does notmean that 35 U.S.C. §112, paragraph 6, applies to that step(s).

With respect to a means or a step for performing a specified function inaccordance with 35 U.S.C. §112, paragraph 6, the correspondingstructure, material or acts described in the specification, andequivalents thereof, may perform additional functions as well as thespecified function.

Computers, processors, computing devices and like products arestructures that can perform a wide variety of functions. Such productscan be operable to perform a specified function by executing one or moreprograms, such as a program stored in a memory device of that product orin a memory device which that product accesses. Unless expresslyspecified otherwise, such a program need not be based on any particularalgorithm, such as any particular algorithm that might be disclosed inthe present application. It is well known to one of ordinary skill inthe art that a specified function may be implemented via differentalgorithms, and any of a number of different algorithms would be a meredesign choice for carrying out the specified function.

Therefore, with respect to a means or a step for performing a specifiedfunction in accordance with 35 U.S.C. §112, paragraph 6, structurecorresponding to a specified function includes any product programmed toperform the specified function. Such structure includes programmedproducts which perform the function, regardless of whether such productis programmed with (i) a disclosed algorithm for performing thefunction, (ii) an algorithm that is similar to a disclosed algorithm, or(iii) a different algorithm for performing the function.

Where there is recited a means for performing a function that is amethod, one structure for performing this method includes a computingdevice (e.g., a general purpose computer) that is programmed and/orconfigured with appropriate hardware to perform that function.

Also included is a computing device (e.g., a general purpose computer)that is programmed and/or configured with appropriate hardware toperform that function via other algorithms as would be understood by oneof ordinary skill in the art.

VIII. Disclaimer

Numerous references to a particular embodiment do not indicate adisclaimer or disavowal, from the scope of the invention, of additional,different embodiments, and similarly references to the description ofembodiments which all include a particular feature do not indicate adisclaimer or disavowal of embodiments which do not include thatparticular feature. A clear disclaimer or disavowal in the presentapplication will explicitly refer to the scope of the invention asdisclaiming or disavowing certain subject matter and will also beprefaced by a phrase such as “does not include” or “cannot perform”.

IX. Incorporation by Reference

Any patent, patent application or other document referred to herein isincorporated by reference into this patent application as part of thepresent disclosure, but only for purposes of written description andenablement in accordance with 35 U.S.C. §112, paragraph 1, and should inno way be used to limit, define, or otherwise construe any term of thepresent application, unless without such incorporation by reference, noordinary meaning would have been ascertainable by a person of ordinaryskill in the art. Conversely, the definitions and other subject matterexplicitly set forth in this application should not be used to limit,define, or otherwise construe any term of any document incorporatedherein by reference. Nothing explicitly set forth in this applicationshould be interpreted as an admission or characterization of any priorart to this application.

Any incorporation by reference does not, in and of itself, imply anyendorsement of, ratification of or acquiescence in any statements,opinions, arguments or characterizations contained in any incorporatedpatent, patent application or other document, unless explicitlyspecified otherwise in this patent application.

X. Prosecution History

In interpreting the present application (which includes the claims), oneof ordinary skill in the art refers to the prosecution history of thepresent application, but not to the prosecution history of any otherpatent or patent application, regardless of whether there are otherpatent applications that are considered related to the presentapplication, and regardless of whether there are other patentapplications that share a claim of priority with the presentapplication.

XI. Additional Embodiments Definitions

Unless stated to the contrary, for the purposes of the presentdisclosure, the following terms shall have the following definitions:

Credit Card—a credit instrument issued by a real world institution to aplayer that allows the player to make purchases by providing an accountidentifier (e.g. a credit card number) rather than cash or othercurrency. An example is a credit card like those issued by Visa,Mastercard, or American Express. For the purposes of the presentdisclosure, the term “Credit card” is intended in a very broad sense andis not limited to those situations in which a player's purchases aremade on credit (i.e. where payments for those purchases is not due untila later time) but also includes financial instruments such as debitcards, check cards, and the like.

Game Environment—an online game such as World of Warcraft or a virtualcommunity such as Second Life.

Total virtual obligation amount—the total amount of virtual financialobligations associated with a player character account.

Virtual Contract—An enforceable agreement between a player character andeither another player character or a game server. Some examples ofvirtual contracts are provided in U.S. Provisional Patent ApplicationSer. No. 60/652,036, which is hereby incorporated by reference in itsentirety for all purposes.

Virtual—shall mean in a game environment or other intangible space.

Virtual World—an online game such as World of Warcraft or a virtualcommunity such as Second Life or There.com.

Virtual Creditor—shall mean a first player character who is owed avirtual obligation by a second player character.

Virtual Credit Score—a score given to player characters in a video gamebased on any one or more of the virtual assets they possess, the age ofthe character account, the type of account, e.g. basic or premium, theavailable credit line of the credit card associated with the account,the existing virtual financial obligations of the player characteraccount, the player character's payment history including days to play,amounts overdue or delinquent, and/or the player character's real worldcredit score.

Virtual Financial Account—a virtual account issued to a player characterby a virtual bank where virtual cash can be deposited and withdrawn.

Virtual Bank—an entity in a virtual world or MMPOG that can providefinancial accounts and issue financial obligations to player characters.The virtual bank can be controlled, for example, by a game server, bankserver, and/or one or more players or player characters.

Virtual Financial Obligation—An agreement by a player character orentity to pay one or more game attributes to another player character,entity or the game server. This obligation can be a one time payment, ormultiple payments over time. The obligation can specify that paymentsare due on virtual or real dates.

Virtual Financial Obligation Value—the in game value of the obligation.For virtual cash the value is stated as a virtual cash amount. For othergame attributes, the value can be determined by generating a virtualcash market value for the item based on the current value in an onlinemarketplace or exchange. The value of the obligation can also be set asa condition of the player contract.

Billing Information—shall mean any information pertaining to billing aplayer including a billing address, credit card account, bank account,pay pal account or other payment information.

Character or “player character”—shall mean a persona created by a playerin a video game.

Avatar—the virtual representation of a player character.

Character Account—shall mean an account that tracks characterattributes.

Character Attribute—shall mean any quality, trait, feature orcharacteristic a particular Character can have that is stored in thecorresponding Character Account. Character Attributes shall include, butnot be limited to:

A character score

A virtual object

The physical appearance of a character

An emblem or mark

A synthetic voice

Virtual money

Virtual help points or credits

The ability to join groups of other players at a later time

A score for subsequent matching of later game parameters

A relationship with another character

A genetic profile or makeup

Character Life—shall mean a fixed period of virtual or real world timethat a player character can exist in a game environment.

Character Skills—shall mean game attributes inherent or acquired by aplayer character during game play such as, but not limited to: theability to cast certain spells, foretell the future, read minds, usecertain weapons, cook, hunt, find herbs, assemble herbs into potions,mine, assemble objects into other objects, fly, and/or enchant otherplayer characters.

Computer Generated Character—shall mean any character that is generatedby the system rather than being another player character.

Game Parameter—shall mean any part of a Video Game by which characterscan be measured. Game Parameters shall include, but not be limitedto: 1. Completing all or part of a mission 2. Playing for a certainperiod of time 3. Winning a match against another player character orcomputer generated character 4. Reaching a certain level or score 5.using or obtaining an ability or technology 6. kill/death ratios 7.obtaining an object 8. solving a puzzle 9. accuracy with weapons 10.effective use of the proper weapon 11. killing a certaincharacter/creature 12. getting through or to a certain geographic area13. decreasing or increasing Karma Points 14. getting, buying,exchanging or learning a new skill or player attribute 15. having achild 16. getting married 17. obtaining, buying, trading, producing ordeveloping raw materials 18. producing goods or services 19. earningincome 20. earning a higher rank in an army 21. winning an electionamong two or more player characters 22. achieving deity status 23.improving player character status or caste 24. assisting other playercharacters with any of the above 25. speed of accomplishing any of theabove

In-game Marketplace—shall mean a virtual environment where Characterscan exchange Attributes.

Massive Multi Player Online Video Game (MMPOG)—Shall mean a Video Gamethat is played using either a network of a Video Game Central Server andat least two Video Game Consuls or a peer-to-peer network of at leasttwo Video Game Consuls. Players create Characters that may interact witheach other in a Video Game Environment that is stored on the Video GameCentral Server and the Video Game Consuls. An example of an MMPOG isWorld of Warcraft.

Novice Player—Shall mean a player that is flagged as requiring the helpof an expert to complete a Game Parameter.

NPC—(non player character) a computer generated character in the game

Player—shall mean an individual who can register an account with a VideoGame Central Server or within a peer-to-peer network and createCharacters that can interact with other Characters in a Video GameEnvironment.

Player Account—Shall mean an account on the Video Game Central Server orwithin a peer-to-peer network that contains a Player profile includingpersonal, billing, and character account information.

Player Attribute—shall mean any attribute that can be applied to aplayer account. Player Attributes shall include, but not be limited to:Real Money Discount of monthly fees for playing game Monthly fee forplaying a game Global character attribute settings for all characterscreated by player across multiple games. Rewards for encouraging anotherplayer to signup to play

Player to Player Contract—shall mean a virtual but binding contractbetween player characters that allows the players to provide or exchangegame attributes to one another. Once a player-to-player contract isestablished, the game server or peer-to-peer network automaticallydistributes acquired game attributes between the player characters basedon the contract conditions.

Video Game—shall mean a game played on a Video Game Consul that may ormay not be networked to a Video Game Central Server or within apeer-to-peer network.

Video Game Consul—shall mean a device comprising a CPU, memory andoptional permanent storage residing at a player location that can allowfor the playing of video games. Examples include, home PCs, MicrosoftXbox, and Sony Playstation.

Video Game Central Server—shall mean a CPU, memory and permanent ortemporary storage that is connected to multiple Video Game Consuls thatallows for Massive Multi Player Online Video Games to be played.

Video Game Environment—Shall mean a virtual video game world that isstored on the combination of the Video Game Central Server and VideoGame Consuls where Characters interact and games are played.

Virtual credit card—a financial instrument issued in a virtualenvironment that acts in the virtual environment for virtual currencythe way a real world credit card acts in the real world for realcurrency.

Real Cash Value—the value in real dollars of the obligation. This valuecan be determined by multiplying the financial obligation value by thethen published exchange rate to real dollars.

Video games which are accessible to multiple players via a server arewell known. For example, hundreds of thousands of players access gamesknown as massive multi player online games (MMOGs). Players of thesegames customarily access a game repeatedly (for durations typicallyranging from a few minutes to several days) over given period of time,which may be days, weeks, months or even years. The games are oftenconstructed such that players pay a periodic subscription price (e.g.,$15 per month) rather than, or in addition to, paying a one timepurchase price for the game. Often, though not necessarily, these gameshave no ultimate “winner” or “winning goal,” but instead attempt tocreate an enjoyable playing environment and a strong player community.

According to one or more embodiments, such embodiments provide a virtualbank secured by'credit cards. According to this embodiment, a virtualenvironment may include a virtual bank where players of a video game candeposit virtual cash or allocate an available credit line on a creditcard and receive interest paid in virtual cash to their player characteraccount. Other player characters can request a loan of virtual cash byagreeing to secure the loan with an available credit line on a creditcard, which may be the player character's real world credit card and/orthat of another player character and/or a non-playing third party, suchas a bank, credit institution, credit card company, insurance company,etc. or any combination of these.

According to one or more embodiments, such embodiments provide a virtualenvironment in which characters are able to make virtual deposits.According to this embodiment, a player character deposits virtual cash(e.g., which he may have earned by playing the game and/or by creatingand selling virtual objects within the game to other players, orotherwise) and/or a player character agrees to allocate a credit line ona credit card associated with the player account in exchange for aperiodic interest payment. The game or virtual bank server mayperiodically determine an average balance over a fixed time period,multiply the balance by a specified interest rate, and pays the interestamount in virtual cash to a player account. Said time periods and/orinterest rates may be established or determined by any suitable methodincluding, but not limited to, by a) the game manufacturer, b) theowner(s) of the server(s) upon which the game resides, c) one or moreplayer characters, d) market forces, e) negotiation among the affectedparties, f) any combination of these.

According to an embodiment, the allocation of the credit card creditline serves to insure the virtual bank's ability to cover deposits inthe bank. In this embodiment, if more withdrawal requests on the bankexist than can be covered by the virtual cash the bank has on hand, thebank can charge the real cash value of the virtual cash shortfall to thecredit cards that players or other entities have registered to securethe bank's deposits.

In an embodiment a bank or other institution can provide a virtualcurrency loan to a character only after receiving real world credit cardinformation from a player controlling the character. This allows thecredit card information to be verified and/or deemed sufficient beforeproviding a loan to the character.

According to an embodiment, the credit cards can be charged based on oneor more conditions. For example, in the event of a shortfall, a playercan receive a higher insurance premium if he allows his credit card tobe charged first or in a higher proportion relative to other creditcards securing the bank. Alternatively or additionally, a player couldbe paid a lower premium rate if he only secures certain types ofdeposits (e.g., less risky). Alternatively, credit lines can be chargedin equal increments until the total shortfall amount is covered.Alternatively, the credit lines can be charged relative to the shortfallamount as compared with each player's committed amount, i.e., as apercentage of the shortfall. For example, if the total shortfall is $100in real currency, and there are two credit cards securing the shortfall,one offering $1,000 and the other offering $100, the first card may becharged $90, while the second is charged $10, each representing thatportion of the shortfall as a percentage of the commitments associatedwith the credit cards. Of course, a combination of these methods or anyother terms as negotiated among the affected parties may be used todetermine how a shortfall is allocated among the affected parties.

According to an embodiment, player characters that deposit virtual cashor allow their credit card to secure the bank can specify what types ofand amounts of virtual loans they are willing to back. As non-limitingexamples, virtual loans could be provided for: 1. Purchasing a fixednumber and/or type or types of virtual asset(s) 2. Lending the virtualmoney for a fixed maximum time period 3. Lending the virtual money toplayer characters with a certain amount of virtual assets in the game ora certain age or skill level in the game environment. 4. Lending thevirtual money to player characters with a certain real or virtual creditscore. 5. Lending virtual money at a specified interest rate, which ratemay be fixed for the term of the loan or which may vary based upon anyone or more variables including, the term, changes in the borrowersstatus, credit scores (real or virtual), assets (real or virtual), overtime, rate of defaults on loans within the game environment in generalor for the lender, tied to other interest rates (real or virtual), totalamount of loans outstanding within the game and/or by the lender and/orthe player character, etc. 6. Lending virtual money to player charactersin exchange for services or goods 7. A specific listing of playercharacters that are acceptable and/or unacceptable to the lender forwhatever reason or no reason.

According to another embodiment, player characters who deposit virtualcash could receive a higher interest rate if their virtual cash is notsecured by a credit card of another player character or the bank.

According to another embodiment, player characters can specify a maximumpercentage of a loan they are willing to back. For instance, a playercharacter may indicate he does not want to lend more than 10% of a givenloan to any particular player character.

According to another embodiment, player characters can specify that acertain percentage of their cash be lent to other player characters withvarying virtual credit scores. For instance 40% of the loans could go toplayer characters with a high credit score, 30% to characters with a lowcredit score, and 30% to characters with a mid credit score. Based onthis ratio, an interest rate can be determined and paid.

According to another embodiment, the bank can guaranty a deposit bylocking credit cards lines associated with it in an amount that isgreater than, or a percentage of, or equal to an amount of virtual cash(and/or which amount may be adjusted based upon projected inflation,exchange rates or other factors) that has been deposited by a playercharacter. Player characters can receive a lower interest payment (orother terms) for deposits that are secured in this manner. If the playercharacter withdraws his deposit from the bank and the funds are notavailable, the credit card line used to cover the deposit can be chargedthe real cash value equal to the requested virtual cash withdrawalamount and/or the credit line can be released as appropriate.

In an embodiment, a module (e.g., accessible in the video game) permitsa player to specify the “completion” of a task that defines anobligation under a contract. For example, the module can provide agraphical user interface (or other interface) that lets the obligationbe defined. For example, the user interface can allow a player to selectthe obligation type (e.g., “deliver an in-game item”), select whatin-game item must be delivered, and select to who (e.g., to whichcharacter) it must be delivered.

Obligations can also have meta-characteristics. For example, the userinterface can permit a player to select whether there is a deadline forthe obligation (e.g., click the DEADLINE radio button in the userinterface), and select the deadline type. For example, deadline typesmay include “Specific Date” (which provides the player with a calendarfrom which the player selects the date), “Within the next X hours ofgame play” (which provides a box where the player can enter a number ofdays/hours/minutes/seconds), “Before the occurrence of another in-gameevent” (which provides a user interface allowing the player to select anin-game event type), “within the next X days of the occurrence ofanother in-game event” (which provides a user interface allowing theplayer to select an in-game event type and a number ofdays/hours/minutes/seconds).

A similar user interface can be used to permit players to modifyobligations (e.g., in a counter offer to a proposal for contract). Asimilar user interface can be used to permit players to modifyobligations (e.g., in a counter offer to a proposal for contract). Asimilar user interface can be used to permit players to enter otherobligations.

An exemplary system 10 configured to provide the virtual environmentdescribed above is shown in FIG. 1. As shown, system 10 includes a gameserver 12, a bank server 14 and a credit card server 16. Game server 12may include a bank creation program 18 and a bank monitoring program 20.Bank server 14 may include a deposit program 22, an interest paymentprogram 24, an insurance set up program 26, an insurance premium program28 and an insurance claim payment program 30. Credit card server 16 mayinclude an insurance premium payment program 32 and an insurance claimpayment program 34.

It can be seen that game server 12 may further comprise a plurality ofdatabases including, for example, a player database 36, a playercharacter database 38, a bank database 40, and a transaction database42.

Player database 36 may comprise information such as: 1. Player ID 2.Credit Card Information 3. Personal Information 4. Billing Information5. Character ID 1-n

Character database 38 may comprise information such as: 1 CharacterAttributes 1-n 2. Character Accounts 1-n 3. Account Balances 1-n 4.Character Assets 1-n 5. Character Obligations 1-n

Bank database 40 may comprise information such as: 1. Bank ID 2. OwnerID 1-n 3. Owner Percentage 1-n 4. Deposit Accounts 1-n 5. Loan Accounts1-n 6. Insurance Accounts 1-n 7. License fee (upfront) 8. License fee(recurring)

Transaction database 42 may comprise information such as: 1 TransactionID 2. Bank ID 1-n 3. Player Character ID 1-n 4. Transaction Data

It can be seen that Bank server 14 may further comprise a plurality ofdatabases including, for example, bank account database 44, insuranceaccount database 46, loan account database 48, and transaction database50.

Bank account database 44 may comprise information such as: 1. BankAccount ID 2. Player Character ID 1-n 3. Virtual Cash Deposit 1-n 4.Deposit Interest Rate 1-n 5. Conditions 1-n 6. Deposit time period 1-n7. Deposit early withdrawal penalty 1-n 8. Deposit type(secured/unsecured)

Insurance account database 46 may comprise information such as: 1Insurance Account ID 2. Player Character ID 1-n 3. Credit Card # 1-n 4.Credit Line Secured 1-n 5 Conditions 1-n 6. Virtual Cash Interest Rate

Loan account database 48 may comprise information such as: 1. LoanAccount ID 2. Player Character ID 1-n 3. Credit Card # 1-n 4. Conditions1-n 5. Amount 6. Payments 7. Interest Rate 8. Start Date 9. PaymentDate(s) 10. Type 11. Automated withdrawal 12. Penalties (1-n)

Transaction database 50 may comprise information such as: 1. TransactionID 2. Transaction Date 3. Transaction Type 4. Transaction Amount

According to one embodiment, game server 12 may be configured to createa virtual bank using some or all of the following method steps: 1.Receive a request from a player character or group of player charactersor one or more third parties to create a bank 2. Determine if there isan available license for the bank based on the game environment and theplayer characters 3. If there is an available license determine andoutput a license fee 4. Receive an acceptance and payment for thelicense fee 5. Create new bank with the player character(s) as owners.

According to another embodiment, game server 12 may be configured tomonitor the bank using some or all of the following method steps: 1.Receive deposits and issued and outstanding loan obligations 2. Receiveinterest and principal payment records 3. Determine if payment recordscorrespond to deposits and loan obligations 4. If the data does notcorrespond, flag bank as suspect

According to one embodiment, bank server 14 may be configured to createa virtual bank using some or all of the following method steps: 1.Create and Output a request to create a bank 2. Receive a license amountif applicable 3. Pay license amount if applicable 4. Receive bankregistration number

According to one embodiment, bank server 14 may be configured to managea virtual bank using some or all of the following method steps: 1.Create a transaction record 2. Transmit record to game server 3. Receiveindication that record was received

According to one embodiment, bank server 14 may be configured to managedeposits to a virtual bank using some or all of the following methodsteps: 1. Receive a request to deposit a sum of virtual cash from aplayer character, including a deposit time period, deposit type, loanconditions, and player character information 2. Determine and output aninterest rate based on any one or more of the deposit time period, loanconditions and player character information to the player character 3.Receive an acceptance of the interest rate and other terms from theplayer character 4. Receive funds from the player character 5. Createnew deposit record 6. Notify game server and player character that newdeposit record was created

According to one embodiment, bank server 14 may be configured to manageinterest payments provided by a virtual bank using some or all of thefollowing method steps: 1. Retrieve a deposit record and determine aninterest payment based on the deposit record criteria 2. Deposit paymentinto player character account 3. Create new interest payment record 4.Notify player character that interest payment was made

According to one embodiment, bank server 14 may be configured to set upinsurance using some or all of the following method steps: 1. Receive arequest from a player character to secure virtual loans with credit cardcredit line including a credit card number, amount of credit lineavailable, and acceptable conditions. 2. Validate that credit cardnumber is good and credit line is available 3. Determine an insurancerate payment based on the request 4. Output rate to player character 5.Receive acceptance of rate 6. Secure credit line of player character andcreate insurance record 7. Notify game server and player character thatinsurance record was created

According to one embodiment, bank server 14 may be configured to manageinsurance premium payments using some or all of the following methodsteps: 1. Retrieve insurance record and generate a premium paymentamount based on record data 2. Deposit virtual payment into playercharacter account 3. Notify game server and player character thatpremium payment was made

According to one embodiment, bank server 14 may be configured to manageinsurance claim payments using some or all of the following methodsteps: 1. Receive a request to withdraw a virtual cash deposit from thebank 2. Determine that there is not enough virtual cash available tocover the withdrawal request and generate a virtual cash shortfallamount 3. Determine a real cash to virtual cash conversion rate 4.Determine a real cash value equal to virtual cash withdrawal shortfall5. Optionally, notify affected parties of pending credit card charges 6.Optionally, provide affected parties with the option to transfer virtualcash into the account to avoid actual credit card charges 7. Determineavailable credit lines based on conditions 8. Charge credit lines thereal cash value of the remaining shortfall based on conditions 9.Convert real cash to additional virtual cash 10. Payout the requestedvirtual cash withdrawal.

According to one embodiment, the present invention provides a system ofvirtual loans. According to this embodiment, a player character mayrequest a loan from the virtual bank by registering a credit card and anamount of credit line he is willing to use as collateral against thevirtual loan. The bank may validate and lock in the available creditline on the credit card, retrieves the player character accountinformation, including, for example, the player character's creditscore, and determine a loan amount and interest payment for the loanbased on the credit line and the player character information.

According to another embodiment, the maximum loan amount, interestpercentage rate, and pay period on the loan can be effected by any oneor more of the following including: 1. The virtual or real world assetsof a player character 2. The level or skill level of a player character3. The trend or rate of change of the skill level of the playercharacter. 4. The age of the character account 5. The type of playeraccount, e.g., basic or premium 6. The player character's previouspayment history or performance 7. The existing outstanding debt or othervirtual loans outstanding to the player character 8. The playercharacter's purpose or intended use of the proceeds of the virtual loan.9. The current or projected interest rates and/or inflation rate and/orexchange rate(s) within the game and/or the real world. 10. The currentor projected interest rates charged by the credit card companies. 11.The current or projected stability or future prospects of the game.

According to another embodiment, the game server could prohibit theplayer character from converting an amount of virtual cash or assetsequal to, or greater or less than the loan amount into real cash.

According to another embodiment, the game server could prohibit the(borrowing) player character from spending loan proceeds, i.e., virtualcash equal to, or any portion or percentage of, the balance of the loanon anything other than virtual assets and/or services specified by theloan.

According to another embodiment, the game server could prohibit theplayer character from reselling or otherwise encumbering the virtualassets purchased with the virtual loan until such time as the virtualloan is repaid.

According to another embodiment, the game server could establish a limitfor additional loans and/or prohibit the player character from furtherborrowing until the loan is repaid. Limits for additional borrowingcould be based upon the player characters virtual or real net worth,debt to equity ratio, total virtual amount, total monthly paymentamount, or other financial constraints established by the lender.

According to another embodiment, a player character could be limitedfrom lending money to himself, another player character controlled bythe same player, or a player character that is a family member, guildmember, or affiliated in some way the player character who depositedmoney in the bank.

According to another embodiment, the loan could be structured so that itis convertible for a percentage ownership of the item or asset that itwas used to purchase (and/or in addition to additional assets and/orpenalties). In this embodiment the player character who took the loan orthe bank that issued the loan can convert the loan obligation into apercentage ownership of the asset(s) that the loan was used to purchase.The terms of the conversion could be specified in the loan agreement andthe conversion rate may change over time as the loan balance is reduced.

According to another embodiment, rather than a loan, the bank coulddecide to just take a percentage of the venture that a player characterwas presenting. This decision can be made by the game server based onthe venture and the player character credit scores or credit line and/ormanually.

According to another embodiment, the virtual bank could be run by thegame server or by player characters or by non-playing third parties.

According to another embodiment, a credit line can secure the loanpayment amount, the entire loan amount, or a ratio of the two. Incalculating the amount, factors such as game growth rates, taxes,inflation and/or exchange rates may be considered in determining thetotal amount to secure on the credit line. Growth rates, taxes,inflation and/or exchange rates may be those associated with real and/orvirtual currency valuations/obligations and/or predicted trends orcombinations of these factors.

According to another embodiment, credit lines can be frozen by the bankowner, and/or just periodically “pinged.” If and when the virtual loanis repaid, the amount secured by credit line could then be released.Alternatively, as the loan is paid down, a percentage of the credit linemay be released in proportion to or in some other ratio with the amountpaid. In this example, the credit line is reduced as the loan is repaid,instead of waiting for the entire loan to be repaid, thus freeing creditlines for new loans security.

According to another embodiment, a player character or virtual bank canloan money to another player character and receive loan payments withoutthose loan payments being secured by a credit card. The first playercharacter establishes a request for an amount of money. A second playercharacter (or, alternatively, two or more player characters or a virtualbank) agrees to loan the first player character the money for a term andwith an interest rate and the virtual money is placed in escrow with thecentral server. When the first player character agrees to the loan termsof the second player character, the central server releases the fundsand tracks the payments due from the first player to the second player.This method may also be used with loans that are secured with a creditcard line of credit.

According to another embodiment, the game server can automaticallycharge the virtual loan payment amount to the appropriate playeraccount, or the bank server can send an invoice or other notice to theplayer. If either (i) the player account does not have adequate fundsfor the game server to withdraw the virtual loan payment amount or (ii)the player character does not pay the invoice sent by the bank then areal cash value can be determined for the virtual loan payment amount,and charged to the credit card associated with the player character or,if applicable, with a third party or other player character who agreedto secure the loan for the defaulting player character.

According to another embodiment, instead of or in addition to interestpayments, the bank and/or game server or lender may receive compensationor fees for processing the initial loan and/or for subsequent paymentprocessing.

According to another embodiment, the game server or bank may restrict adelinquent player character from entering into any other virtual loan orother indebtedness.

According to another embodiment, the first (i.e., borrower) playercharacter can be excluded from owning land or engaging in othercontracts if he has not made a loan payment to a bank.

According to another embodiment, a bank or game server may impose orenforce a lien on a player character that is delinquent in paying anyloan amount when due.

According to another embodiment, players can pay an additional up frontor recurring fee so that their characters can issue or take loans fromother player characters or NPCs

According to another embodiment, banks can be permitted by the gameserver, or a territory or town in the game environment to set up avirtual presence and do business. A bank may have to buy a virtualpermit to do business in each location where it has a branch in the gameenvironment. The virtual permit may be a one-time fee and/or may requireperiodic payments that are fixed or variable, which may be based uponthe total amount of funds in the depository, loans outstanding, revenuesgenerated, interest rates or interest received, number of borrowers,number of defaulting borrowers, percentage of secured vs. unsecuredloans, total number of banks, real or virtual tax rates for similar realor virtual institutions within the game or similar games, vote by agroup of player characters and/or an entity or player character electedto represent the player characters, the game manufacturer, by the game,which determination may be based upon market forces and/or an auction orreverse auction, or, in the case of one player character or group ofplayer characters wishing to sell their bank to another playercharacter(s), for an amount as determined by the sellers and/or asdetermined by any of the foregoing. Variable payments might be basedupon the amount of loans outstanding and/or interest collected or totalpayments received, or any combination of these or other variables.

According to another embodiment, player characters can choose, at anytime, whether they want a loan to be charged to their virtual cashaccount or their credit card on file or any combination of theseoptions.

According to another embodiment, a virtual debit card can be issued tothe player character that can be used to make purchases in the game. Theuse of the card may be limited to purchases that are specified in theloan obligation or by the account (in the case of a loan not beinginvolved). Player characters can give these debit cards to other playercharacters who can use the outstanding or remaining balance on them forvirtual purchases specified when the debit card was created. Debit cardscan be given to a first player character when a second player characterrelies on the first player character to purchase something for him, butcannot trust the player character with virtual cash that hasunrestricted purchase parameters. Debit cards can be used to create ingame payment vehicles that can only be used to purchase certain virtualassets and/or services.

According to another embodiment, percentages of the debit card value canbe allocated to different virtual asset classes. For instance, 50% ofthe value could be used to buy specific raw materials and 40% could beused to purchase services from specific NPCs and player characters toturn those raw materials into a specific product. The remaining 10% ofthe value could be used by a player character for anything, but, forexample, only when the other 90% has been spent to create the specificproduct and that product has been deposited into the debit card issuer'saccount.

According to another embodiment, an amount of the player credit line canbe released equal to the real cash value of the principal portion of avirtual loan payment when that payment is made. Alternatively, theinitial credit line lock can be held until the loan is paid in full.

According to another embodiment, some loans may have priority over otherloans, i.e., if a player character enters bankruptcy or otherwisedefaults on any loan, some loans may recover from the assets of theplayer character before those of other loans. Priority of loans may beestablished at the time the loan is secured and/or based upon the datesecured, for example, giving preference to loans secured earlier overthose secured later on.

According to another embodiment, a program that tracks and displays allavailable credit lines, current loans, available loans, including theirterms and conditions, such as interest rates, a listing of playerswishing to borrow or loan money, etc., is accessible by playercharacters. Banks, and/or Player characters may use this program todetermine if they wish to loan or borrow virtual cash and/or commit partor all of their available credit line to the game, bank or playercharacter(s), along with terms and conditions for its use.

According to another embodiment, loans may be issued with or withoutcollateral. Collateral may be real world or virtual assets and/orpromises to perform certain services.

According to another embodiment, credit score can be virtual or realworld or a combination of these scores. When deciding to issue a virtualloan, the actual real world credit score of a player character can beused to determine whether to issue the loan and the interest rate amountand/or other terms or restrictions or limitations.

According to another embodiment, the exchange rate can be zero and canalso be adjustable based on inflation rates (again real or virtual or acombination of these), etc.

According to another embodiment, the exchange rate can be determined atthe time the loan agreement is created or when a player's credit cardactually needs to be charged for the real cash value of a virtual loanpayment.

According to another embodiment, the interest rate can be determined atthe time the loan agreement is created and/or may be adjustable overtime based upon any one or more of: a) real or virtual interest rates,b) payment performance, c) adherence to loan restrictions or otherterms, d) number of initial or subsequent defaults on loans by theplayer character, e) real or virtual credit scores, or any otherfinancial or other terms as determined by the lender and agreed upon bythe borrower.

According to another embodiment, in the event a real world credit cardis canceled that was being used to secure part or all of a loan or thatotherwise serves as collateral and/or to ensure a payment, the systemcould receive a notice of such cancellation and could: a) make any andall outstanding loans secured by such a credit card or line of creditimmediately due and payable and/or b) require the lender and/or borrowerto provide a new credit instrument and/or c) require additionalcollateral to secure the loan (provided by either the credit card holderand/or the borrower), d) secure a back up line of credit that wasoffered a credit card holder to “reinsure” the original card holder,and/or e) notify other player characters of the opportunity to use theircredit card to secure the loan (for the same or different terms andbenefits) and/or any combination of these options.

An exemplary system 100 configured to provide the virtual environmentdescribed above is shown in FIG. 2. As shown, system 100 may include agame server 102, a bank server 104, and a credit card issuer server 106.

Game server 102 may include a Loan Creation Program 108, whereby a bankserver can register a loan with the game server. Game server 102 mayfurther include a simple Loan Payment Program 110, a complex LoanPayment Program (complex) 112, a Prohibit Sale of Virtual Assets Program114, a Debit Card Issuance Program 116, a Debit Card Usage Program 118,a Loan Converted to Shares of Asset Program 120, a Loan request program(no bank) 122 and a Loan acceptance program (no bank) 124.

Bank Server 104 may include a simple loan Generation Program 126, acomplex Loan Generation Program 128 a register Loan with game serverprogram 130, a Loan Payment Program (automatic) 132, a Loan PaymentProgram (invoice) 134, an Advertisement program 136, a Loan PaymentProgram (choice of real or virtual cash) 138, a Ping Credit Line 140, aprohibit Sale of Virtual Assets Program 142, a Release Credit Line whenLoan is paid 144, a Debit Card Issuance Program 146, a Debit Card UsageProgram 148, a Debit Card Issuance Program (register debit card withgame server) 150, a Debit Card Usage Program (register debit card withgame server) 152, a Loan Converted to Shares of Asset Program (bankmanaged) 154, and a Loan Converted to Shares of Asset Program (gameserver managed) 156.

Credit Card Issuer Server 106 may include a Lock Credit Line Program158, a Real Cash Payment Program 160, a Release Credit Line 162, and aPing Credit Line program 164.

As shown, game server 102 may further include a plurality of databasesincluding, as non-limiting examples:

A Loan Account Database 166, which may include information such as: 1.Bank ID 2. Loan Account ID 3. Player Character ID 1-n 4. Credit Card #1-n 5. Conditions 1-n 6. Amount 7. Payments 8. Interest Rate 9. StartDate 10. Payment Date(s) 11. Type 12. Automated withdrawal? 13.Penalties (1-n)

A Debit Card Database 168, which may comprise information such as: 1.Bank ID 2. Debit Card ID 3. Debit Card Amount by category 1-n 4. DebitCard Issue Date 5. Debit Card Conditions 1-n

Bank Server 104 may include a Loan Account Database 170, which maycomprise information such as: 1. Bank ID 2. Loan Account ID 3. PlayerCharacter ID 1-n 4. Credit Card # 1-n 5. Conditions 1-n 6. Amount 7.Payments 8. Interest Rate 9. Start Date 10. Payment Date(s) 11. Type 12.Automated withdrawal 13. Penalties (1-n)

Bank server 104 may also include a Debit Card Database 172, which maycomprise information such as: 1. Bank ID 2. Debit Card ID 3. Debit CardAmount by category 1-n 4. Debit Card Issue Date 5. Debit Card Conditions1-n

Bank server 104 may also include an Account Database 174, which maycomprise information such as: 1. Account ID 2. Player ID 3. DepositAmount 4. Balance 5. Conditions 1-n

Credit Card Server 106 may also include a similar account database 176.

According to one embodiment, loan creation program 108 may be configuredto: 1. Receive an indication that a virtual loan has been created from abank, including the loan amount, conditions, and bank ID and playercharacter IDs 2. Create and Store virtual loan record

According to one embodiment, simple loan payment program 110 may beconfigured to: 1. Receive an indication that a loan payment has beenmade 2. Store loan payment with loan record

According to one embodiment, Prohibit Sale of Virtual Assets program 114may be configured to: 1. Receive a request to sell a virtual item from aplayer character. 2. Determine if there is an outstanding loan or lienagainst either the player character or on the item 3. If there is anoutstanding loan or lien, prohibit the sale of the item and notifyplayer character 4. or 5. If the purchase price is equal to or exceedsthe lien or loan amount, allow the sale of the item and immediately paydown the loan obligation with the proceeds 6. or 7. If the purchaseprice is equal to or exceeds the loan amount allow the sale of the itembut lock up an amount of the proceeds of the sale equal to all or aportion of the outstanding loan amount

According to one embodiment, Debit Card Issuance program 116 may beconfigured to: 1. Receive an indication that a debit card was issuedfrom a bank including player character info, bank info, debit cardamount and conditions 2. Create and store debit card record

According to one embodiment, Debit Card Usage program 118 may beconfigured to: 1. Receive an indication that the purchase of a virtualitem or service will be paid for with a virtual debit card 2. Determineif purchase qualifies based on debit card conditions (if any) 3. Ifpurchase is qualified, allow purchase and deduct virtual cash from theaccount balance. 4. If purchase is not qualified, disallow purchase 5.Notify bank that purchase was attempted and made

According to one embodiment, Loan Converted to Shares of Asset program120 may be configured to: 1. Receive a request to convert all or aportion of an outstanding loan into shares of a virtual asset by avirtual bank server or player character 2. Retrieve and amend loanobligation 3. Retrieve and amend ownership structure of virtual asset 4.Notify loan parties and owners of asset that loan has been convertedinto shares of a virtual asset

According to one embodiment, simple Loan Generation program 126 may beconfigured to: 1. Receive a request to borrow virtual cash including aplayer character ID, a credit card number, and/or a credit line amount2. Validate credit card number and credit line amount 3. Determine avirtual cash loan amount based on credit line amount 4. Determine aninterest rate and virtual cash payment schedule 5. Output a loan offerincluding a virtual cash loan amount, interest rate and virtual cashpayment schedule to player character 6. Receive acceptance of loan offerfrom player character 7. Lock credit line 8. Create new loan record 9.Output virtual cash to player character account

According to one embodiment, complex Loan Generation program 128 may beconfigured to: 1. Receive a request to borrow virtual cash including aplayer character ID, a credit card number, and/or a credit line amount,an virtual asset to purchase or build with the loan, 2. Validate creditcard number and credit line amount 3. Retrieve player character accountto access credit score of player character 4. Determine a virtual cashloan amount based on credit line amount, virtual asset being purchasedor created, and credit score of player character 5. Determine aninterest rate and virtual cash payment schedule based on credit lineamount, virtual asset being purchased or created, and player charactercredit score. 6. Output a loan offer including a virtual cash loanamount, interest rate and virtual cash payment schedule to playercharacter 7. Receive acceptance of loan offer from player character 8.Lock credit line 9. Create new loan record 10. Output virtual cash toplayer character account

According to one embodiment, Loan Generation program 130 may beconfigured to: 1. Create a new loan record 2. Notify game server thatloan record has been created

According to one embodiment, Loan Payment program 132 may be configuredto: 1. Retrieve loan agreement 2. Determine if payment is due 3. Ifpayment is due, determine virtual cash payment amount due 4. Withdrawamount from player character account 5. If player account does not haveenough virtual cash to cover payment, 6. Determine a real cash value ofthe virtual payment 7. Retrieve credit card used to secure loan 8.Charge real cash value to credit card 9. Notify player that credit cardwas charged

According to another embodiment, Loan Payment program 132 may beconfigured to: 1. Retrieve loan agreement 2. Determine if payment is due3. If payment is due, determine virtual cash payment amount due 4.Withdraw amount from player character account 5. If player account doesnot have enough virtual cash to cover payment, notify owner of creditcard securing said loan 6. If credit card owner chooses to pay debt withvirtual cash, notify borrower and update loan balances due, along withany additional interest or penalties, otherwise: 7. Determine a realcash value of the virtual payment 8. Retrieve credit card used to secureloan 9. Charge real cash value to credit card 10. Notify player thatcredit card was charged

According to one embodiment, Loan Payment (invoice) program 134 may beconfigured to: 1. Retrieve loan agreement 2. Determine if payment is due3. If payment is due, determine virtual cash payment amount 4. Determineadvertisement(s) based on player character activity 5. Generate invoiceincluding virtual cash payment amount, date due, and advertisements 6.Transmit payment to player character 7. Determine if virtual payment wasmade on or before date due 8. If virtual payment was not made 9.Determine a real cash value of virtual payment 10. Retrieve credit cardassociated with loan agreement 11. Charge real cash value of virtualpayment to credit card

According to one embodiment, Loan Payment (invoice) program 134 may beconfigured to: 1. Retrieve loan agreement 2. Determine if payment is due3. If payment is due, determine virtual cash payment amount 4. Determineadvertisement(s) based on player character activity 5. Generate invoiceincluding virtual cash payment amount, date due, and advertisements 6.Transmit payment to player character 7. Determine if virtual payment wasmade on or before date due 8. If virtual payment was not made notifyowner of credit card securing said loan 9. If credit card owner choosesto pay debt with virtual cash, notify borrower and update loan balancesdue, along with any additional interest or penalties, otherwise: 10.Determine a real cash value of virtual payment 11. Retrieve credit cardassociated with loan agreement 12. Charge real cash value of virtualpayment to credit card

According to one embodiment, Loan Payment program 138 may be configuredto: 1. Determine that a loan payment is due 2. Determine value of loanpayment in real and virtual cash 3. Output notification to playercharacter that loan payment is due including payment options and values4. Receive payment option choice from player character 5. If optionchoice was virtual, remove virtual cash amount from player characteraccount 6. If option was real, retrieve credit card associated with loanand charge real cash amount to credit card

According to one embodiment, Ping Credit Line program 140 may beconfigured to: 1. Determine that a player character has an outstandingvirtual loan 2. Determine real and virtual cash value of loan 3.Retrieve credit card associated with loan 4. Ping credit card for theoutstanding real cash value of the loan amount 5. If credit equal toloan amount is not available 6. Liquidate virtual assets of playercharacter equal to virtual cash value of virtual loan 7. Deposit virtualcash in loan account to pay off loan

According to one embodiment, Release Credit Line when Loan is paidprogram 144 may be configured to: 1. Receive indication that finalpayment of virtual loan has been received 2. Retrieve credit cardassociated with virtual loan 3. Notify credit card issuer to releasecredit line

According to one embodiment, Release Credit Line when Loan is paidprogram 144 may be configured to: 1. Receive indication that a periodicpayment of virtual loan has been received 2. Retrieve credit cardassociated with virtual loan 3. Notify credit card issuer to release anequal or other determined portion of the credit line.

According to one embodiment, Debit Card Issuance program 148 may beconfigured to: 1. Receive a request to create a debit card including avirtual cash amount, a specified receiver of the card, and conditions(if any) for spending the virtual cash from one or more playercharacters. 2. Create debit card including usage conditions (if any) 3.Transfer cash from player character(s) account(s) to debit card 4.Output debit card to specified receiver 5. Notify player character(s)and game server that debit card was created and issued 6. Update debitcard bank database

According to one embodiment, Debit Card Usage program 150 may beconfigured to: 1. Receive request to use debit card from a playercharacter to purchase an in game good or service or to pay a debt. 2.Determine if use falls within debit card condition parameters (if any)3. Allow use if condition parameters allow it 4. Don't allow use if itfalls outside of condition parameters 5. Notify player character usingdebit card, player character(s) who created debit card, and game serverif debit card was used or not allowed to be used. 6. Update remainingcash balance

According to one embodiment, Loan Converted to Shares of Asset Program154 may be configured to: 1. Determine that a virtual loan should to beconverted into shares of a virtual asset 2. Convert virtual loan intovirtual asset 3. Notify player character(s) associated with loan andgame server that virtual loan has been converted into virtual asset

According to one embodiment, Loan Converted to Shares of Asset Program156 may be configured to: 1. Determine that a virtual loan should to beconverted into shares of a virtual asset 2. Transmit conversion requestto game server 3. Receive notice that virtual loan has been convertedinto virtual asset from game server

According to one embodiment, bank server 104 may be configured to: 1.Receive credit card number and credit line from a player character 2.Retrieve player character profile 3. Validate available credit line oncredit card 4. Determine amount of virtual loan and interest rate basedon credit line and player character profile 5. Output loan offer toplayer character 6. Receive acceptance of offer from player character 7.Lock credit line for all or a portion of loan value 8. Create LoanContract 9. Output Loan Contract to Player Character 10. Receive virtualsignature of contract from Player Character 11. Deposit Loan amount intoplayer character account.

According to one embodiment, the invention provides a virtualenvironment in which Venture Capital (VC) Funds are run by PlayerCharacters. In this embodiment, rather than, or in addition to, issuingloans, the virtual bank can act as a VC fund. It can receive proposalsfor building virtual projects and fund the virtual projects in exchangefor a percentage ownership in the asset. The VC agreement can specifythe percentage ownership, guaranteed dividends, percentage of profit orrevenue dividends, and other obligations that the player characterreceiving the VC funding has to pay to the bank. The game server canautomatically remove these benefits from the player character accountand transfer them to the bank. If the player character cannot fulfilltheir obligation to pay a dividend or other required payment to thebank, the credit card associated with the player character account canbe charged the real cash value of the dividend amount.

According to one embodiment, the VC may receive preferential payments aswith a “preferred stock.”

According to one embodiment, a player character may be limited to thenumber of VC funds in which he can participate. The maximum number couldbe dependent upon: 1. The monthly fee the player pays to play the game2. The age of the account 3. The skill level of the character 4. Thevirtual net worth of the player or player character

According to one embodiment, the VC can issue virtual cash to theproject accounts as an up front fee, or over time as pieces of theproject are completed.

According to one embodiment, the dividend payments may or may not besecured by credit cards.

FIG. 3 provides an exemplary system 200 configured to provide thevirtual environment described above. As shown, system 200 includes agame server 202, a VC server 204 and a credit card server 206. Gameserver 202 may include a register VC program 208, a manage VC program210, a register VC Investment program 212, and a manage VC investmentprogram 214. VC server 204 may include an Initiate VC Investment Program216, a Receive Dividend Program 218, a Receive Proceeds from Sale ofAssets Program 220, and an Initiate Sale of Assets Program 222.

Game Server 202 may further comprise a plurality of databases includingplayer database 224, player character database 226, VC database 228, VCGovernance rules database 230, and fee database 232.

Player Database 224 may comprise information such as: 1. Player ID 2.Personal Info 3. Billing Info 4. Characters 1-n

Player Character Database 226 may comprise information such as: 1.Character ID 2. Characters Assets 3. Character Obligations 4. CharacterAccounts

VC Database 228 may comprise information such as: 1. VC ID 2. Owner ID1-n 3. Owner Percentage 1-n 4. Assets 1-n 5. Accounts 1-n 6. VirtualLocation

VC Governance Rules database 230 may comprise information such as: 1.Rule ID 2. Rule Description

Fee Database 232 may comprise information such as: 1. Fee Type 2. Feeamount 3. Fee conditions

VC Server 204 may comprise a VC Agreements database, which may compriseinformation such as: 1. Agreement ID 2. Agreement Parties 1-n 3. PartyType 4. Agreement Terms and Conditions

According to one embodiment, Register VC program 208 may be configuredto: 1. Receive a request to register a virtual Venture Capital fundincluding the VC owners, VC assets, VC location, and VC accounts 2.Determine if a permit is available for the VC 3. If a permit isavailable determine a permit price 4. Output permit price 5. Receiveacceptance of permit price 6. Create VC fund 7. Output notice that fundis created 8. Charge VC fund account the permit price

According to one embodiment, Manage VC program 210 may be configuredto: 1. Determine that a VC must pay a permit fee 2. Output notice toplayer character owners of VC that a permit fee is due. 3. Receive apayment Or 4. If no payment is received by x time period, suspend VCactivity.

According to one embodiment, Register VC Investment program 212 may beconfigured to: 1. Receive a VC agreement 2. Determine if agreement termsand conditions fall within VC governance rules 3. If agreement satisfiesrules, create an agreement ID 4. Transmit ID to parties of agreement 5.Activate Agreement 6. Charge activation fee to VC account

According to one embodiment, Manage VC Investment program 212 may beconfigured to: 1. Receive an indication that a VC investment has adividend payment due 2. Output dividend request to investment 3. Receivedividend payment 4. Transmit payment to VC 5. Generate and Charge the VCa dividend payment processing fee or 6. If dividend payment is notreceived after x time period 7. Notify VC and investment that dividendwas not received 8. Determine a penalty 9. Apply penalty 10. Charge VCfund fee for applying penalty

According to one embodiment, Initiate VC Investment program 216 may beconfigured to: 1. Receive a request to fund a virtual project from oneor more player characters including a virtual project plan, virtualblueprint, a virtual cash budget, and amount of virtual cash necessaryto complete the project 2. Determine a project value based on theproject request and the credit scores of the player characters 3.Determine an ownership investment structure based on the value, and thecredit scores of the player characters 4. Output an investment offer,including an ownership percentage, a required dividend schedule, aninvestment payment schedule and other terms and conditions to the playercharacters 5. Receive an acceptance of the offer 6. Create a new virtualproject including a virtual account and transfer appropriate virtualcash into project account 7. Register agreement with Game Server

According to an alternate embodiment, Initiate VC Investment program 216may be configured to: 1. Receive a request to fund a virtual projectfrom one or more player characters 2. Determine an ownership investmentstructure for the project 3. Output investment structure to playercharacters 4. Receive acceptance of structure 5. Transmit virtualproject and ownership investment structure to Game Server 6. Ifstructure is accepted, A. receive registration number B. notify playercharacter's the project was accepted C. transmit virtual money forproject to project account D. transmit virtual cash fee to game serverto register complete project registration 7. if structure is notaccepted A. receive notice of why structure was not accepted, includingchanges required to make it acceptable from the game server B. revisestructure according to change requests C. transmit revised structure toplayer characters D. Receive acceptance of revised structure E. Transmitrevised structure to game server for approval F. receive registrationnumber G. notify prayer character's the project was accepted H. transmitvirtual money for project to project account I. transmit virtual cashfee to game server to register complete project registration

According to an embodiment, Receive Dividend program 218 may beconfigured to: 1. Determine that a dividend is due 2. Determine adividend amount based on virtual project performance and investmentstructure conditions 3. Output request for dividend payment 4. Receivepayment Or 5. If payment is not received, retrieve credit card(s)associated with project, 6. Determine a real cash value of the virtualcash dividend 7. Charge real cash value to credit card(s)

According to an alternate embodiment, Receive Divided program 218 may beconfigured to: 1. Receive a virtual dividend for a virtual investmentfrom the game server 2. Deposit virtual cash into virtual account 3.Flag investment as “dividend paid”

According to an embodiment, Receive Proceeds from Sale of Assets program220 may be configured to: 1. Receive and indication of or initiate thesale of a virtual asset 2. Receive a virtual cash amount for the sale ofthe asset 3. Determine virtual proceed amount(s) based on ownershippercentage defined by investment agreement 4. Transmit virtual cashproceed amounts to owners of asset based on ownership percentages

According to another embodiment, Receive Proceeds from Sale of Assetsprogram 220 may be configured to: 1. Receive an indication of orinitiate the sale of a virtual asset 2. Determine virtual proceed amountbased on ownership percentage defined by investment agreement 3.Transmit request for virtual proceed amount to player character(s) whoown the asset including a virtual cash amount and a date due 4. Receivea virtual cash payment equal to the virtual proceed amount Or 5. If avirtual cash payment is not made by the date specified, 6. Retrieve thecredit card(s) on file associated with the investment 7. Determine areal cash value equal to the real cash value of the virtual proceedamount 8. Charge the real cash value to the credit card(s)

According to another embodiment, Receive Proceeds from Sale of Assetsprogram 220 may be configured to: 1. Receive or Request the sale of avirtual asset 2. Receive a selling price 3. Receive a virtual cash valuebased on the ownership percentage defined by the investment agreement 4.Mark investment record as sold

According to another embodiment Initiate Sale of Assets program 222 maybe configured to: 1. Receive an indication that a virtual dividendpayment for a virtual asset has not been received by a specified date 2.Register virtual asset for sale 3. Receive virtual proceeds of sale 4.Retain proceeds equal to dividend payment, ownership percentage, andfees and transmit remainder to player characters who own asset.

According to another embodiment, Initiate Sale of Assets program 222 maybe configured to: 1. Transmit a notice that a virtual dividend paymenthas not been received for a virtual asset by a specified date 2. Receivevirtual proceeds from the sale of the virtual asset equal to thedividend payment, ownership percentage, and fees 3. Flag virtual assetrecord as sold

According to another embodiment, the present invention provides avirtual environment in which a player who registers to play a game onthe game server or sets up an account with the bank server is offeredthe chance to sign up for a credit card whereby the unused credit lineis used to secure deposits in the virtual bank in exchange for a monthlyinterest payment. The credit card can pay benefits in the form ofvirtual cash that are deposited into the game account of the playercharacter as they accrue.

According to an alternate embodiment, The credit card can pay apercentage of the monthly charges in the form of virtual cash to theplayer character account.

According to another embodiment, only credit cards that have been issuedby the game server or its bank co brand partner can be used to securevirtual loans and or deposits in the game.

According to another embodiment, a Virtual Rewards Program may beoffered to players or player characters. Player characters that make useof virtual credit cards may accumulate points based upon their usageand/or payment habits. Points may be exchanged for real or virtualobjects and/or real or virtual cash. Points may be exchanged for virtualskills, favors, training or education, secrets or secret codes, that,for example, permit entry into a specific area, or solves a puzzle, orprovides a hint to solve a puzzle, or provides a “get out of jail freecard” or an option to “go back in time” or to improve a player'sstrength, or recovery rate, or to receive part or all of any maps,avatar features or upgrades, lower real or virtual interest rates, andother in game or real world products, services, devices, and the like.

According to another embodiment, virtual cash can be issued to theplayer character account for real world purchases made with the card.

FIG. 4, depicts an exemplary a system 300 in which the virtualenvironment described above may be implemented. As shown, system 300 mayinclude a game or bank server 302 and a credit card issuer server 304.Game or bank server 302 may include a credit card upsell program 306.Credit card issuer server 304 may include a virtual cash rewardgeneration program 308.

According to the depicted embodiment, game or bank server 302 mayfurther comprise a player database 310 and a player account database312.

Player Database 310 may comprise information such as: 1. Player ID 2.Billing Info 3. Personal Info 4. Character ID 1-n

Player Account Database 312 may comprise information such as: 1. PlayerID 2. Account Number 3. Credit Line Available 4. Credit Line Secured 5.Virtual Cash Payment Percentage for Secured Line 6. Virtual Cash Paymentfor Purchases made with Card 7. Reward Conditions 8. Transactions 1-n

Credit Card Issuer Server 304 may include a virtual cash reward accountdatabase 314, which may include information such as: 1. Account ID 2.Game Account ID 3. Reward Conditions 4. Transactions 1-n

According to one embodiment, credit Card Upsell Program 306 may beconfigured to: 1. Receive a player character log in 2. Determine ifPlayer Character qualifies for a credit card based on personal info,game play behavior, billing info, real world credit score and/or virtualworld credit score 3. Determine a virtual benefit for the playercharacter if he signs up and/or uses the credit card 4. If playerqualifies output credit card upsell including benefit(s) A. Receiveacceptance of upsell offer, including personal information from playercharacter B. Transmit personal information to credit card issuer C.Receive new credit card account information D. Output information toplayer character

According to one embodiment, Virtual Cash Reward Generation Program 308may be configured to: 1. Receive card usage activity of a playercharacter from card issuer 2. Determine virtual cash reward based onconditions and usage activity 3. Transmit virtual cash reward to playeraccount

According to another embodiment, Virtual Cash Reward Generation Program308 may be configured to: 1. Determine a real cash compensation valuefor the virtual cash reward 2. Transmit cash compensation value tocredit card issuer for reimbursement

According to yet another embodiment, Virtual Cash Reward GenerationProgram 308 may be configured to: 1. Receive a virtual cash award amountfor a player character from the card issuer 2. Deposit virtual cashaward into player account.

According to an embodiment, Virtual Cash Reward Generation Program 338may be configured to: 1. Retrieve usage of virtual cash reward card overa fixed time period 2. Generate a virtual reward based on conditions andcard usage 3. Retrieve player character account 4. Transmit virtual cashreward to player account

According to another embodiment, Virtual Cash Reward Generation Program338 may be configured to: 1. Output card usage activity of a playercharacter to a game server 2. Receive a real cash compensation valuefrom the game server 3. Transmit the real cash compensation value to thegame server

According to another embodiment, the present disclosure provides methodsand system for Determining a Virtual Credit Score for a Player Characterin a virtual environment. According to this embodiment, the bank or gameserver can calculate, update and maintain a credit score for each playercharacter in the game. The system may track any one or more of theactivity, payment habits, assets and other player characteristics and/orattributes of each player character in either the real world and/or thevirtual world or both, and a credit score is generated. The playercharacter credit score can be based on any one or more of the following,including, but not limited to: 1. The age of the player and/or playercharacter account 2. The amount of virtual assets of the playercharacter 3. The real cash and/or virtual credit line of the real and/orvirtual credit cards associated with the player character's account 4.The total amount and/or number of outstanding real or virtualobligations of the player character 5. The payment history ofoutstanding real and/or virtual obligations of the player character 6.The skill, level or number of experience points of the player character7. The guild, family, or other group standing of the player character.8. The ratio of the player's real and/or virtual assets to outstandingreal and/or virtual obligations or other indebtedness 9. The playercharacter's account type, e.g., basic or premium 10. The playercharacter's real world credit score 11. The reliability of the playercharacter to perform other virtual obligations, such as favors, servicesowed, virtual help, and/or results of bartering or other interactionswith other player characters, and the like. 12. Any one or more offinancial ratios such as real or virtual net worth or debt to equityratios, or debt payment obligations/real or virtual income or any otherfinancial ratios or calculations that are well known and used within theprior art and/or the credit card or banking industries. 13. Anycombination of the preceding.

According to an alternate embodiment, players who do not pay back loans,interest or other payments when due and/or do not pay on time, may havea lower credit score.

According to another embodiment, player characters that have a lot ofdebt and make payments may have a higher score.

According to another embodiment, credit scores may affect interest ratescurrent or subsequent loans by NPCs or other player characters.

According to another embodiment, interest rates may be fixed and/orvariable.

According to another embodiment, players may be placed on credit hold sothat they cannot request additional loans.

According to another embodiment, players may be placed on credit watch,which may restrict their financial dealings other than acquiring newloans, e.g., prevent selling assets.

According to some embodiments, the net worth of a player character canbe constantly or periodically monitored based on the value of the assetshe owns in the game environment vs. what similar assets have sold for toother player characters in the past.

According to another embodiment, the credit score of a player charactermay be based in part on the credit scores of other characters associatedwith that player account. Or one virtual credit score can be given tothe player that can be used by all of his characters in the gameenvironment.

According to another embodiment, in the event one of a player's multipleplayer characters defaults on any loan and/or any other contractualagreement and/or any other financial obligation, that default may beconsidered as a default for all of his characters in the gameenvironment.

According to one embodiment, a table based, rules driven, or geneticalgorithm type program can generate and store credit scores for playercharacters

FIG. 5 provides an exemplary system 400 configured to provide thevirtual environment described above. As shown, system 400 includes agame server 402 which may include a player character credit scoringprogram 404. System 400 may further include a plurality of databasessuch as player account database 406, player character database 408, andcredit score conditions database 410.

According to one embodiment, Player Account Database 406 may comprisedata such as: 1. Player ID 2. Player Billing Info 3. Player PersonalInfo 4. Play History 5. Real World Credit Score 6. Virtual World CreditScore 7. Character ID 1-n

According to an embodiment, Player Character Database 408 may comprisedata such as: 1. Character ID 2. Character Assets 3. Character PlayHistory 4. Character Attributes 5. Character Credit Score

According to an embodiment, Credit Score Conditions database 410 maycomprise data such as: 1. Condition ID 2. Condition Descriptor

According to one embodiment player character credit scoring program 404may be configured to establish a credit score by performing some or allof the following steps: 1. Retrieve player and player characterattributes 2. Apply credit score conditions to attributes 3. Generatecredit score 4. Store score in player or player character account

According to another embodiment of the present invention, games orplayers may establish rules and conditions under which a player maydeclare bankruptcy. The effect of a bankruptcy may be any one or more ofthe following, including, but not limited to: 1. Temporary or lifetimebanishment from the game. 2. A required repayment of all or a percentageof debts owed plus interest and/or penalties to those who suffered fromthe bankruptcy before a player character can play in the game again. 3.A flag set to require cash payments to continue play, plus someadditional amount which will payoff the outstanding debt, and/orinterest and/or penalties, over time 4. A complete or partialforgiveness of debts. 5. Real debts, e.g. those secured by a creditline, are less likely to be partially or completely forgiven, whereasartificial debts, e.g., promise to provide a service, may be more easilyrelieved.

FIG. 6 provides an exemplary system 500 in which a virtual environmentis configured to allow player characters to declare bankruptcy.According to the depicted embodiment, system 500 includes a game server502 which may include an Establish Bankruptcy Program 504 and an Emergefrom Bankruptcy Program 506. System 500 may further include a pluralityof databases including player database 508, player character database510, bankruptcies database 512, emerge from bankruptcy conditionsdatabase 514 and a declare bankruptcy conditions database 516.

According to one embodiment, player Database 508 may comprise data suchas: 1. Player ID 2. Player Status 3. Conditions Necessary to ChangeStatus

According to one embodiment, Player Character Database 510 may comprisedata such as: 1. Character ID 2. Player ID 3. Character Status 4.Conditions Necessary to Change Status

According to one embodiment, Bankruptcies Database 512 may comprise datasuch as: 1. Bankruptcy ID 2. Status 3. Conditions to Change Status 4.Character ID 5. Player ID

According to one embodiment, Emerge from Bankruptcy Conditions Database514 may comprise data such as: 1. Condition ID 2. Condition Descriptor

According to one embodiment, Declare Bankruptcy Conditions Database 516may comprise data such as: 1. Condition ID 2. Condition Descriptor

According to one embodiment, Establish Bankruptcy program 504 may beconfigured to: 1. Receive a request for a virtual bankruptcy ordetermine that a player and/or player character falls within allowableconditions of bankruptcy 2. Create virtual bankruptcy record 3.Determine and store conditions for player and/or player character toemerge from virtual bankruptcy 4. Set status of player and/or playercharacter to bankrupt 5. Output conditions to emerge from virtualbankruptcy to player character

According to one embodiment, Emerge from Bankruptcy program 506 may beconfigured to: 1. Receive a request to emerge from virtual bankruptcy 2.Output conditions to emerge from virtual bankruptcy 3. Receiveindication that player or player character account has satisfiedconditions 4. Change status of player and or player character account tonot bankrupt

According to another embodiment of the present invention, Cities andCorporations in virtual environments can issue bonds and take loans fromplayer characters or other virtual cities.

According to this embodiment, a governing individual or group of playercharacters in a city or corporation in a game environment can issue arequest to borrow money to build a public work or other project in thecity. The governing group of player characters of a city can design abuilding within the confines of the conditions of the city. A price canbe determined for the building, and a series of bonds can be madeavailable to player characters and other cities to finance theconstruction of the project.

For example, a city qualifies to build an aqueduct in its town based onthe population count of its non-player character citizens and/or basedupon the city's credit rating. Player characters define thearchitectural plans of the aqueduct and a price to assemble the aqueductis generated based on the plan and the natural or other materialsspecified. The city can borrow the money to build the aqueduct from itsplayer character citizens or another city or a combination of these. Toprove that it can pay back the loan, the city can show its per turnincome from tax revenues (of whatever source), or it can show how thenew aqueduct will be paid for by, for example, by selling fresh water toits citizens for a per turn fee or other tax. The fresh water contractswith its citizens could be signed before the loan is issued to assemblethe public work. The bond can be secured by the credit cards of playercharacters who are government representatives or citizens of the city orunaffiliated third party player characters, and/or a real or virtualbank may secure the bonds, and/or any combination of these options.

According to another embodiment, a group of player characters can createa project that requires a loan to fund. A virtual bank can issue a loanto the group of player characters equal to the amount of the credit linethe sum of the player characters is willing to make available on theircredit card accounts to secure the loan. As, or once, built, the projectthey have built can also be used as collateral for the loan.Alternatively, the natural or other resources and/or building materialsmay serve as part or all of the required collateral. If the group ofplayer characters defaults on all or part of the loan, the collateralcan first be taken, and/or if its value on the virtual market isinsufficient to pay back the loan in full, the credit cards of the groupcan be charged the balance due.

If a group of credit cards secures a loan, when a default occurs, thecredit cards can be charged using any one or more of the following,including, but not limited to: 1. All in equal percentage of theoutstanding default until a credit line is maxed out, and then in anequal percentage on the remaining credit lines until no credit line isleft on any card. 2. In an order designated by the loan agreement, i.e.charge credit card A first up to the max credit line or a fixed dollaramount, then charge credit card B, etc. 3. All in a ratio specifiedunder the loan agreement, i.e. 40% to credit card A, 20% to credit cardB and so on. 4. Any other sequence or amounts as specified in the loanagreement and/or by the game manufacturer, and/or a duly elected orotherwise authorized governing body, and/or the bank or lender.

According to an alternate embodiment, instead of a loan, citizens of thetown could each pay a fee in virtual cash to assemble a public work thatthen allows them to receive the benefit or a percentage of the benefitproduced by that public work for free and/or receive a portion of therevenues received by other citizens that did not fund the work, and/orreceive a reduced price for receiving benefits from that public work,and/or a reduction in their tax rates and/or a reduction in fees for useof all or some of the other public services available and/or a reducedprice to borrow funds, e.g., lower interest rates, of any combination ofthese options.

Alternatively or additionally, VCs could fund and build the public workand charge a fee to the city's citizens to use it. If the citizenscannot pay the fee, the VC could charge their credit cards the real cashvalue of the virtual fee amount.

According to another embodiment, utility payments can also be secured bya credit card. Player characters that are citizens of a city can pay amonthly virtual fee to use the utilities of the city. If they fail topay, the real cash value of their monthly utility bill can be charged toa credit card associated with the player account.

According to another embodiment, players can be co-guarantors.Accordingly, one or more players could sponsor a loan of another playercharacter by posting their available credit lines on their credit cardsto secure the loan. In this embodiment, a player character requests aloan and designates one or more other player characters as co-guarantorsof the loan. The game server or bank server receives the request for theloan, along with the names of the co-guarantors and outputs a notice ofthe loan to the players who have been designated as co-guarantors. Theco-guarantors can then send an acceptance to the notice, and the bankserver locks in the designated amount of their credit card line. Onceenough co-guarantors have sent an acceptance to the notice that the loanhas been secured, the loan is issued to the player character whorequested it.

According to another embodiment, virtual bond can be bought inincremental units or percentage of the whole. For instance, playercharacters can buy 100 $1 bonds or 1% of a $100 bond.

According to another embodiment, virtual bonds can be traded on virtualexchanges just as regular bonds are traded in the prior art.

According to yet another embodiment, the game server and the bank servercan be the same server and the method steps for creating and managingutilities and bonds can be divided between the two. For instance, bondcreation can be the responsibility of the bank server and registrationand fees can be managed by the game server or vice versa.

FIG. 7 provides a block diagram of an exemplary system 600 configured toprovide a virtual environment including virtual cities and corporationsthat can issue bonds and take loans from player characters or othervirtual cities or corporations. As shown, system 600 includes a gameserver 602, a bank server 604 and a credit card server 606.

Game Server 602 may include, for example, a Bank Creation and ManagementProgram 608, a Utility Creation Program 610, a Bond Creation Program 612and a Utility Management Program 614.

According to the depicted embodiment, Bank Server 604 may include aUtility Management Program 616 and a Co Guaranty Loan Program 618.

According to the depicted embodiment, Credit Card Server 606 may includea Security Deposit Program 620.

According to the depicted embodiment, Game Server 602 may furtherinclude a plurality of databases including, for example a playerdatabase 622, a player character database 624, a city/corporation (orother type such as a guild, etc.) database 626, a utility database 628,a bond database 630, a utility conditions database 632, and a utilityfee database 634:

According to the depicted embodiment, Bank server 604 may furtherinclude a bond database 638 and a co-Guaranteed loan database 640.

According to the depicted embodiment, Credit Card server 606 may includean account database 642.

According to one embodiment, Player Database 622 may include data suchas: 1. Player ID 2. Group ID 3. Player Billing Info 4. Player Characters1-n

According to one embodiment, Player Character Database 624 may includedata such as: 1. Character ID 2. Character Assets and Attributes 3.Groups 1-n

According to one embodiment, City/Corporation (or other group type suchas guild, etc) Database 626 may include data such as: 1. Group ID 2.Character Members 1-n 3. Group Assets and Attributes

According to one embodiment, Utility Database 628 may include data suchas: 1. Utility ID 2. Group ID(s) 3. Usage Conditions 4. Blueprint 5.Component(s) 6. Owners (s) 7. Ownership Percentage 8. Obligations

According to one embodiment, Bond Database 630 may include data suchas: 1. Bank ID 2. Utility ID 3. Group ID 4. Bond Conditions 5. BondCreation Date 6. Bond Creation Schedule

According to one embodiment, Utility Conditions Database 632 may includedata such as: 1. Condition ID 2. Condition Descriptor 3. Utility types1-n

According to one embodiment, Utility Fee Database 634 may include datasuch as: 1. Utility Fee ID 2. Utility Fee Descriptor

According to one embodiment, Bond Database 638 may include data suchas: 1. Bond ID 2. Bond Creation Date 3. Bond Amount 4. Group ID 5.City/Corporation ID 6. Bond Amount 7. Bond Conditions 8. Bond PaymentSchedule

According to one embodiment, Co-Guaranteed Loan Database may includedata such as: 1. Loan ID 2. Player Character Co-guarantors 1-n 3. CoGuarantor Credit Cards 1-n

According to one embodiment, system 600 may be configured to assemble abond request. Accordingly system 600 may be configured to: 1. Receive aGroup Registration 2. Receive a Utility Plan Blueprint and ProjectTimeline 3. Receive a Utility business model, including fees for using avirtual utility and number of potential player character users 4.Determine a credit card payment method in the event of a dividend orbond payment default 5. Generate a list of virtual resources andservices required to complete Utility based on blueprint 6. Generate avirtual cash value for the virtual resources and services 7. Create andStore a Bond Request based on the group, blueprint, timeline, businessmodel, credit card payment method, resources, services, and cash value,8. Generate a bond request registration fee 9. Charge fee to groupaccount

According to another embodiment, system 600 may be configured to createa bond agreement. Accordingly, system 600 may be configured to: 1.Receive an indication of interest to purchase all or a portion of a bond(from a virtual bank, vc, or player character) 2. Receive a virtual cashpayment (and store payment in escrow) 3. If virtual cash paymentfulfills bond, notify group that bond request has been filled 4. Issuevirtual cash to group based on business plan associated with bondrequest

According to another embodiment, system 600 may be configured to make abond payment. Accordingly, system 600 may be configured to: 1. Determinethat a bond payment is due 2. Withdraw virtual cash amount equal to bondpayment amount from Utility account; and 3. Transmit bond payment tobond holders based on ownership structure and conditions Or 4. Ifutility cannot make bond payment, retrieve character accounts associatedwith group who registered utility, including credit card information 5.Determine a real cash value for the virtual bond payment amount 6.Determine a credit card charge method based on method specified by group7. Charge credit card(s) based on charge method until real cash valuefor the virtual bond payment amount has been collected 8. Convert realcash to virtual cash and transmit bond payment to bond holders based onownership structure

According to yet another embodiment, system 600 may be configured tocreate a public work with no bond, but instead relying on the citizensto build. Accordingly, system 600 may be configured to: 1. Receive ablueprint for a utility from a group of player characters 2. Determineif group qualifies to build utility 3. Determine if blueprint isacceptable 4. Determine a group of virtual resources and servicesnecessary to build the virtual utility based on the blueprint 5.Determine a virtual cash value 6. Determine a utility registration fee7. Output virtual cash value and registration fee 8. Receive acceptanceof virtual cash value and registration fee 9. Generate utility id numberand account 10. Receive virtual cash value from player character group11. Activate utility record

According to still another embodiment, system 600 may be configured tocreate a public work with no bond, but instead relying on VC's to build.Accordingly, system 600 may be configured to: 1. Receive a utilityblueprint (from a VC) 2. Determine a registration fee 3. Outputregistration fee 4. Receive virtual payment for registration fee 5.Create Utility record

According to another embodiment, system 600 may be configured to help aplayer or player character register to use a public work. Accordinglysystem 600 may be configured to: 1. Receive a request to use a utility(from a group or player character) 2. Determine a usage fee and aregistration fee 3. Output fees 4. Receive payment for fees 5. Registerplayer or group of players to use utility, including player charactercredit card to be charged if virtual cash is not available for fee.

According to yet another embodiment, system 600 may be configured tocharge a fee to use a public work. Accordingly, system 600 may beconfigured to: 1. Determine a virtual cash fee is due for using autility, 2. Withdraw virtual cash fee from player character or group ofplayer character accounts. 3. Or 4. If virtual cash fee is notavailable, 5. retrieve credit card associated with player character,determine a real cash value for the utility fee payment, 6. charge realcash value to credit card, 7. convert real cash into virtual cash, 8.deposit virtual cash into account

According to yet another embodiment, system 600 may be configured toCo-guaranty a loan taken out by another player character. Accordingly,system 600 may be configured to: 1. Receive a request for a loan,including a loan amount, a player character ID, a second playercharacter ID, and a credit card associated with a second playercharacter ID. 2. Lock credit line on credit card equal to real cashvalue of virtual loan amount 3. Issue loan to first player character

According to yet another embodiment, system 600 may be configured tosell virtual bonds on an exchange. Accordingly, system 600 may beconfigured to: 1. Receive a virtual bond ID number from a buying player2. Retrieve outstanding bond sell offers from selling player for bond IDnumber 3. Output sell offers 4. Receive an acceptance of an offer frombuying player 5. Transfer virtual bond ownership from the selling playerto the buying player 6. Transfer virtual cash equal to bond offer pricefrom buying player to selling player

According to another embodiment, the present invention provides for itempurchase financing options in a virtual environment. According to thisembodiment, a first player character can purchase a game attribute froman NPC, the game server or a second player character. Rather than payingthe full price for the item upfront, the player character can pay forthe item in (e.g. per turn) installments. When the first player makesthe purchase of the item, he can choose to pay up front or over time ininstallments with or without interest and/or with or without otherfinance or other fees. If the first player character purchases the itemwith a payment plan, the payment amount may be automatically removedfrom his account on each turn of the game. Alternatively, the playercharacter may receive an invoice once or each turn and the playercharacter can make the required payment. If the first player does nothave sufficient virtual money to make his payment, at the option of thelending player and/or bank or other lender, the item may be removed fromhis possession and given back to the character from which the purchasewas made, the outstanding balance could be paid using the credit linethat secured the loan, and/or the player could use real cash to satisfyhis virtual payment obligation.

According to another embodiment, financing can be provided by the playerselling the item, by another player, or by the game server.

According to still another embodiment, the payments for the item can besecured by a credit card associated with the player character. If theplayer paying the financing options fails to make a payment, his creditcard could be charged a real cash amount equal to the value of thevirtual cash. The charge may or may not also include a financing charge,interest or penalty.

According to yet another embodiment, the payment terms can be negotiatedand/or fixed by any one or more of the buyer, the seller, or the gameserver, and/or the player character(s) providing the credit line tosecure the loan.

According to another embodiment, players can pay an additional fee fortheir characters to be able to purchase and/or sell items with paymentplans. For example, a player account may cost $14.95 a month, but apremium player account that allows the player characters to engage inloan activity may cost $16.95 a month.

According to another embodiment, player characters can pay real orvirtual cash up front on a loan to prepay interest or other costs, whichmay result in a lowering of the interest rate.

According to another embodiment, the finance option can be automaticallygenerated and displayed on the screen that is used in the game for aplayer character to make a purchase of a virtual or real world item.

According to yet another embodiment, when buying an item, a playercharacter can set an option that automatically charges a credit cardassociated with his account if the player character does not have enoughvirtual cash to buy the item.

According to still another embodiment, the player character that isfinancing an item cannot sell it or otherwise encumber or remove theitem from his possession until it has been paid in full. Alternatively,if the item is sold, the proceeds of the sale can be used to instantlypay off the remaining balance of the financing agreement.

According to another embodiment, rather than the game server itself, athird party bank server or other server can maintain financingagreements.

An exemplary system 700 suitable to provide the virtual environmentdescribed above is depicted in FIG. 8. In the depicted embodiment,system 700 includes a game server 702 and a credit card server 704. Asshown, game server 702 may include a Create Financing Agreement Program706, an Upsell Financing Program 708, a Financing Payment Program 710,and an Inventory Lock Program 712. Credit card server 704 may include aLock Credit Line Program 714, a Charge Financing Payment Program 716,and a Release Credit Line Program 718.

Game Server 702 may include a plurality of databases. Non-limitingexamples of the types of databases that may reside on game server 702include, player database 720, player character database 722, financingoffer database 724, financing agreement database 726, and credit cardserver 728.

According to one embodiment, Player Database 720 may include informationsuch as: 1. Player ID 2. Player Billing Info 3. Player Personal Info 4.Player Characters 1-n

According to one embodiment, Player Character Database 722 may includeinformation such as: 1. Player Character ID 2. Assets 3. Accounts 4.Financing Agreements

According to one embodiment, Financing Offer Database 724 may includeinformation such as: 1. Offer ID 2. Character ID(s) 3. Group ID 4.Financing Terms and Conditions

According to one embodiment, Financing Agreement Database 726 mayinclude information such as: 1. Agreement ID 2. Virtual Asset or Item ID3. Buyer Player Character 4. Seller Player Character 5. Financing Entity

Credit Card Server 704 may include any needed databases including, forexample, an Account Holder Database 728.

According to one embodiment, game server 702 may be configured to set upa seller initiated Financing Offer. Accordingly, game server 702 may beinclude one or more programs which are configured to: 1. Receive aproduct to sell, including financing terms and conditions 2. Post itemfor sale, including financing terms and conditions

According to one embodiment, game server 702 may be configured to set upa third party initiated Financing Offer. Accordingly, game server 702may be include one or more programs which are configured to: 1. Receivea product to sell 2. Determine if product qualifies for financing basedon third party terms and conditions 3. Create financing terms andconditions for product 4. Post item for sale, including financing termsand conditions offered by third party (third party could be game server,virtual bank, or other player character)

According to one embodiment, game server 702 may be configured to Make aFinancing Offer with credit card as security. Accordingly, game server702 may be include one or more programs which are configured to: 1.Receive a request to buy a virtual item from a player character 2.Determine if player qualifies for financing offer 3. Determine ifproduct has financing terms and conditions 4. If player characterqualifies and financing offer is available, output financing offer tocustomer 5. Receive acceptance of offer, including credit card number 6.Verify credit card and lock credit line 7. Create and Store FinancingAgreement 8. Transmit virtual item to player character account

According to one embodiment, game server 702 may be configured to allowa player character to Make a Financing Payment with credit card assecurity. Accordingly, game server 702 may be include one or moreprograms which are configured to: 1. Determine a financing payment isdue on a virtual item 2. Withdraw virtual payment amount from playercharacter account 3. If virtual cash is not available 4. Retrieve creditcard stored with financing agreement 5. Determine a real cash amountequal to virtual payment amount 6. Charge real cash amount to playercharacter credit card 7. Convert real cash amount into virtual cash 8.Transmit virtual cash payment to financing party

According to one embodiment, game server 702 may be configured to lockan item being financed in Inventory. Accordingly, game server 702 may beinclude one or more programs which are configured to: 1. Receive arequest to sell an item 2. Determine if an item is being paid for with afinancing agreement 3. If the item is being paid for with a financingagreement 4. Prohibit Sale of item 5. Notify seller that item cannot besold until financing has been completely paid

According to one embodiment, game server 702 may be configured to allowa player character to pay back loan remainder if item being financed issold. Accordingly, game server 702 may be include one or more programswhich are configured to: 1. Receive an indication that a virtual item issold 2. Determine if there is a financing agreement on the item 3. Ifthere is a financing agreement on the item, 4. retrieve financingbalance 5. Remove financing balance from sale proceeds 6. Transmitremainder to player character account

According to another embodiment, the present invention provides for aVirtual Credit Card in a virtual environment. According to thisembodiment, a virtual credit card that has the same benefits as aregular, i.e., real world credit card. A player character can registerand/or apply for a virtual credit card with a virtual bank or otherlending institution, including a game server, player character, group ofplayer characters, or third party credit card company, which credit cardcompany may also be an issuer of real credit cards. The issuing partyretrieves the real and/or virtual credit score and history of the playercharacter requesting the card. Based on the credit score and historyand/or other factors, a maximum virtual credit line and an interest rateis established and output to the player character. If the playercharacter accepts the terms, a virtual credit card account is createdfor him and a virtual credit card is added to his inventory. The virtualcredit card may include spending limits, maximum single or multiplepurchase limits, preestablished or variable interest rates, rewardprogram terms and conditions and/or other terms and conditions and/orfeatures as determined by the lending institution and/or as agreed byand between the lending institution and the borrower.

A character can use the virtual credit card to make purchases in thegame. Periodically, the issuing party may determine that a payment duebased on the outstanding balance due and the specified interest rate. Areal or virtual invoice and/or notice may be generated and sent to thecharacter who holds the credit card and/or a payment can automaticallybe taken from the character's bank account and transferred to thelender, e.g., the credit card issuer, or the character can pay theinvoice by a specified date/time due. If the character does not make thepayment, pays late or does not have sufficient virtual cash in hisaccount to make the required payment, the items he purchased with thecredit card and/or additional virtual assets can be seized by the creditcard issuer and/or the game server and/or resold to recoup the money.

According to an another embodiments, the virtual credit line can besecured by the credit line of a real world credit card owned by theplayer character and/or by one or more third parties' credit or otherreal world financial collateral/assets/funds. If the player charactercannot make his virtual cash payments, the real cash value of thosepayments can be determined and charged to a real world credit card (ortaken from any other real world financial account) associated with theplayer character account. Such real world credit cards/accounts may beowned or controlled by the player character and/or by one or more thirdparties.

According to a further embodiment, in the event of a payment default,another third party character player may pay (i.e., lend) the amount duein exchange for a promise to pay at a higher interest rate, and/orprovide a service and/or provide the third party lender with a desireditem or object or game attribute and/or under any other terms agreedupon by the defaulting player character and such third party(ies).

According to a still further embodiment, when making a purchase with avirtual credit card, or along with payment notices, or when paying avirtual credit card bill, credit card issuers or other lenders, and/oradvertisers, may present one or more marketing messages to credit cardholders. The message can be in the form of a virtual or printedadvertisement. The advertisement can be related to the virtual purchasehistory of the player character. For instance, a player character whofrequents a virtual casino and pays for his gambling with his credit,can be offered free credit from another virtual casino to gamble attheir virtual establishment. The virtual advertisements canautomatically apply rewards, discounts, and special pricing to purchasesmade with the advertisers using the virtual credit card.

An exemplary system 800 configured to provide a virtual environment suchas that described above is shown in FIG. 9. As shown, system 800 mayinclude a game server 802 and a credit card server 804. Game server 802may include any suitable program including, but not limited to, a creditcard account set up program 806, a periodic payment program 808, and agenerate advertisements for virtual credit card invoice program 810.Credit card server 804 may include any suitable program including, butnot limited to, a credit qualification program 812.

Game Server 802 may further include a plurality of databases including,for example, player database 814, a player character database 816, avirtual credit card database 818, and an advertisement database 820.

According to one embodiment, Player Database 814 may include data suchas: 1. Player ID 2. Player Personal Information 3. Player BillingInformation 4. Real World Credit Score 5. Player Characters 1-n

According to one embodiment, Player Character Database 816 may includedata such as: 1. Character ID 2. Character Credit Score 3. CharacterAssets and Attributes

According to one embodiment, Virtual Credit Card Database 818 mayinclude data such as: 1. Credit Card Number 2. Character ID 3. VirtualBalance 4. Virtual Transactions 5. Virtual Credit Line

According to one embodiment, Advertisement Database 820 may include datasuch as: 1. Advertisement ID 2. Advertisement Descriptor 3. RelevantCharacters Characteristics 4. Relevant Player Characteristics 5.Relevant Virtual Transaction History 6. Advertisement Hyperlink 7.Advertisement Discount 8. Advertisement Virtual Fee Per Impression 9.Advertisement Virtual Fee Per Click

According to one embodiment, game server 802 may be configured to allowplayer characters to register for card. Accordingly, game server 802 maybe configured to: 1. Receive a Request for Virtual Credit Card from aPlayer Character 2. Generate Virtual Credit Score for Player Credit Card3. Determine Virtual Credit Line 4. Create Virtual Credit Card Account5. Output account creation notice to player character (and game serverif Bank Server is issuing card)

According to some embodiments, game server 802 may be configured toprequalify player characters for credit cards and offer cards to thoseprequalified player characters. Accordingly, game server 802 may beconfigured to: 1. Qualify a Player Character for a Virtual Credit Card2. Receive Player Character Log in 3. Output Credit Card Upsell 4.Receive acceptance of upsell offer 5. Create virtual credit card account6. Output account creation notice to player character

According to an alternate embodiments, game server 802 may be configuredto: 1. Receive a player character log in 2. Output credit card upsell 3.Receive acceptance of upsell offer 4. Determine a virtual credit linebased on player character virtual credit score 5. Create Virtual CardAccount 6. Output account creation notice to player character

According to some embodiments, game server 802 may be configured to helpa player character make, a purchase with a virtual credit card.Accordingly, game server 802 may be configured to: 1. Receive a requestto make a virtual purchase from a player character 2. Output paymentoptions, including credit card if account exists and credit line isavailable 3. Receive credit card as payment choice 4. Charge virtualpurchase to virtual card account 5. Mark virtual purchase as paid

According to some embodiments, game server 802 may be configured togenerate an invoice and help a player character make virtual payment.Accordingly, game server 802 may be configured to: 1. Determine that avirtual payment is due for a virtual credit card 2. Generate and outputa virtual invoice including a virtual payment amount and a date due tothe player character 3. Receive payment on or before due date 4. Or 5.If no payment is received by date due 6. Retrieve credit card associatedwith player character 7. Determine a real cash value for the virtualpayment amount plus applicable fees 8. Charge real cash value to creditcard 9. Convert real cash into virtual cash 10. Mark virtual payment aspaid

According to some embodiments, game server 802 may be configured to helpa player character make automated virtual payments. Accordingly, gameserver 802 may be configured to: 1. Determine that a virtual payment isdue for a virtual credit card 2. Withdraw virtual payment amount fromplayer character virtual account 3. Or 4. If no payment is received bydate due 5. Retrieve credit card associated with player character 6.Determine a real cash value for the virtual payment amount plusapplicable fees 7. Charge real cash value to credit card 8. Convert realcash into virtual cash 9. Mark virtual payment as paid

According to some embodiments, game server 802 may be configured todetermine advertisements for invoice. Accordingly, game server 802 maybe configured to: 1. Determine advertisements for invoice 2. Generate avirtual invoice for a virtual credit card 3. Determine appropriateadvertisements for credit card based on player character transactionhistory, player character characteristics, and player characteristics 4.Attach advertisements to invoice 5. Transmit invoice to player characterincluding advertisements 6. Flag advertisement as sent

According to some embodiments, game server 802 may be configured tocreate a click through advertisement on an invoice. Accordingly, gameserver 802 may be configured to: 1. Receive a click on an advertisementon a virtual invoice 2. Output a web page in response to theadvertisement 3. Flag advertisement as clicked

According to yet another embodiment, the invention provides for avirtual environment including a Virtual Collection Agency. In the eventa player character defaults on a virtual or real loan, the credit cardissuer, bank or other player character or entity holding the note orfinancial obligation, may opt to transfer part or all of such obligationto another player character, bank, or other lending institution, any orall of which may serve as a collection agency.

The collection agency may pay the note holder an up front fee and/orpercentage of the total outstanding debt, in exchange for the potentialfuture value of the final collected amount, i.e., a discount payment orother amount for the “transfer of paper”, and/or may remit a percentageof the final collected amount to the note holder and retain the balancefor its efforts. The collection agency may also take possession of theliens on any real or virtual property and/or take actual possession ofsame and either hold it until paid (i.e., akin to a pawn shop) and/orsell the assets to recover part or all of the loan.

When a player character signs up for a virtual credit card or entersinto any other indebtedness or note, he may also be required by thelender to agree to permit such a transfer of his obligation, whether forcollections on a default or otherwise.

Alternatively or additionally, a holder of a note or other indebtednessmay sell or assign part or all of such loan or other debt in exchangefor a portion or all of such note. In this way, lenders may reduce theirrisk and/or free up their credit lines so that they can focus onsecuring new loans.

According to some embodiments, the second player character can hire aloan officer that is an NPC or other player character to pursue and/orharass the first player character and force payment from him.

According to some embodiments, the bank could have NPC loan officersthat it sends out to follow a player character with a delinquent loan.The delinquent player character would be followed by that NPC until hehad paid his loan to the bank.

According to some embodiments, a player character avatar's appearancemay be altered if there are any loans, outstanding loans, bad debts orlate payments. For example, the avatar may have a “ball and chain”attached to its leg if there is a loan. The number, length, size,apparent or perceived weight or color of the ball and chain may bemodified depending upon the number, size, length, interest rate, creditscore, past payment performance, etc., of the player character'soutstanding loans, and/or current virtual credit score. In this manner,other player characters could easily determine the current creditworthiness of any given player Character. Optionally, other playercharacters could click on the avatar and/or, for example, the ball andchain or other indica, and receive details about that player character'sloans, credit score, payment history or other financial information.Such information may optionally only be viewable by those from whom theplayer character has applied for credit.

According to some embodiments, the bank can request that a playercharacter with a delinquent loan be jailed if he is late with hispayments

According to some embodiments, the player character with a delinquentloan, can never return to the town where the loan contract was made tododge payment of the loan to the bank located in that town.

According to some embodiments, collection agencies can bid against eachother to take over an obligation that a bank or game server posts asavailable.

FIG. 10 provides a block diagram of a exemplary system 900 suitable foruse with the above-described embodiments. As shown, system 900 includesa game server 902 which may host, for example, a virtual collectionprogram 904. System 900 further includes a bank server 906, which mayhost, for example, a virtual collection program 908.

Game Server 902 may include a plurality of databases including, but notlimited to, a player database 910, a player character database 912, anobligation database 914, a collections agency database 916, anobligation status database 918, and a collections database 920.

According to one embodiment, Player Database 910 may include data suchas: 1. Player ID 2. Player Personal Information 3. Player BillingInformation 4. Real World Credit Score 5. Player Characters 1-n

According to another embodiment, Player Character Database 912 mayinclude data such as: 1. Character ID 2. Character Credit Score 3.Character Assets and Attributes 4. Character Obligations 5. ObligationStatus

According to another embodiment, Obligation Database 914 may includedata such as: 1. Obligation ID 2. Obligation Descriptor 3. ObligationTerms and Conditions 4. Obligation Penalties

According to another embodiment, Collections Agency Database 916 mayinclude data such as: 1. Collections Agency ID 2. Collections AgencyDescriptor 3. Collection Types 4. Penalty Types 5. Collection Methods

According to another embodiment, Obligation Status Database 918 mayinclude data such as: 1. Obligation Status ID 2. Obligation StatusDescriptor 3. Obligation Status Actions

According to another embodiment, Collections Database 920 may includedata such as: 1. Collection ID 2. Collection Agency ID 3. PlayerCharacter ID 4. Penalty Method 5. Collection Terms and Conditions

Bank Server 906 may similarly host any number of suitable databasesincluding, for example a player character account database 922 and anobligation database 924.

According to one embodiment, Player Character Account Database 922 mayinclude information such as: 1. Player Character ID 2. Account ID 3.Obligation ID 1-n

According to an embodiment, Obligation Database 924 may includeinformation such as 1. Obligation ID 2. Player Character ID 3.Obligation Penalties 4. Obligation Terms and Conditions

According to one embodiment, game server 902 may be configured to set upconditions for obligation Transfer at the time the obligation iscreated. Accordingly, game server 902 may be configured to: 1. Receivean obligation request from a player character 2. Determine conditionsfor obligation transfer (to a virtual collection agency) 3. Outputconditions to the player character 4. Receive acceptance of conditionsfrom the player character 5. Create Obligation for the player character

According to one embodiment, game server 902 may be configured to: 1.Determine that an obligation is in default 2. Retrieve conditions forobligation transfer 3. Transfer obligation to collection agency based onconditions

According to another embodiment, game server 902 may be configured to:Determine that an obligation in default based on conditions 2. Outputoffer to transfer obligation to multiple collection agencies 3. Receiveacceptance of offer from a collection agency 4. Transfer obligation tocollection agency

The invention is described with reference to several embodiments.However, the invention is not limited to the embodiments disclosed, andthose of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that the invention isreadily applicable to many other diverse embodiments and applications.Accordingly, the subject matter of the present disclosure includes allnovel and nonobvious combinations and subcombinations of the varioussystems, methods configurations, embodiments, features, functions,and/or properties disclosed herein.

The present disclosure provides, to one of ordinary skill in the art, anenabling description of several embodiments and/or inventions. Some ofthese embodiments and/or inventions may not be claimed in this patentapplication, but may nevertheless be claimed in one or more continuingapplications that claim the benefit of priority of this patentapplication. Applicants intend to file additional applications to pursuepatents for subject matter that has been disclosed and enabled but notclaimed in this patent application.

Of course it will be appreciated that the systems methods describedherein are provided for the purposes of example only and that none ofthe above systems methods should be interpreted as necessarily requiringany of the disclosed components or steps nor should they be interpretedas necessarily excluding any additional components or steps.Furthermore, it will be understood that while various embodiments aredescribed, such embodiments should not be interpreted as being exclusiveof the inclusion of other embodiments or parts of other embodiments.

1. A method performed by a computer, the method comprising: providing,by a Video Game Central Server, a virtual environment including avirtual bank; providing, by the Video Game Central Server, a virtualcurrency loan to a character interacting with the virtual environment;receiving, by the Video Game Central Server, real world credit cardinformation from a player controlling the character before providing theloan; creating, by the Video Game Central Server, a bank account for asecond character; receiving, by the Video Game Central Server, a depositof virtual currency from the second character and associating thedeposit with the second character's bank account; determining, by theVideo Game Central Server, an interest rate for the bank account; andmaking, by the Video Game Central Server, a periodic payment to the bankaccount based on the interest rate and the bank account's balance. 2.The method of claim 1 further comprising providing, by the Video GameCentral Server, the second character with a user interface wherein thesecond character can indicate limitations on the use of currencydeposited by the second character into the bank, and monitoring, by theVideo Game Central Server, for compliance with the limitations.
 3. Themethod of claim 2 wherein the limitations include limiting the use ofthe currency to certain types of loans.
 4. The method of claim 3 whereinthe limitations further include limiting the loan to characters whosecredit scores are above a certain threshold value.
 5. The method ofclaim 1 further comprising using, by the Video Game Central Server, thereal world credit card information as a guaranty for the loan;determining, by the Video Game Central Server, if the loan account ispast due; and if the bank account balance is past due, charging, by theVideo Game Central Server, an amount to the real world credit card. 6.The method of claim 1 further comprising determining, by the Video GameCentral Server, if the character is qualified for a loan by determininga credit score for the character.
 7. A method performed by a computer,the method comprising: providing, by a Video Game Central Server, avirtual environment including a virtual bank; receiving, by the VideoGame Central Server, virtual project proposals from a character in thevirtual environment; determining, by the Video Game Central Server, aproject value based on the project request; determining, by the VideoGame Central Server, terms of a venture capital investment agreementbased on the project value; outputting, by the Video Game CentralServer, an investment offer to the character; receiving, by the VideoGame Central Server, an acceptance of the offer; and creating, by theVideo Game Central Server, a virtual project agreement.
 8. The method ofclaim 7 further comprising: determining the credit rating of thecharacter by receiving a real world credit rating for a playercontrolling the character.
 9. The method of claim 7 wherein theinvestment offer includes a percentage ownership of the project for thevirtual bank.
 10. The method of claim 7 wherein the investment offerincludes a dividend schedule.
 11. The method of claim 7 wherein theinvestment offer includes an investment payment schedule.
 12. The methodof claim 11 wherein the investment payments are automatically debitedfrom the character's account.
 13. The method of claim 7 furthercomprising associating, by the Video Game Central Server, real worldcredit card information for a player controlling the character with thevirtual project agreement.
 14. The method of claim 13 furthercomprising: determining, by the Video Game Central Server, if aninvestment payment is overdue; and if the investment payment is overdue,charging, by the Video Game Central Server, an amount to the real worldcredit card.
 15. An apparatus comprising: a processor; and a computerreadable medium in communication with the processor; in which thecomputer readable medium stores instructions which, when executed by theprocessor, direct the processor to provide a virtual environmentincluding a virtual bank; provide a virtual currency loan to a characterinteracting with the virtual environment; receive real world credit cardinformation from a player controlling the character before providing theloan; create a bank account for a second character; receive, a depositof virtual currency from the second character and associating thedeposit with the second character's bank account; determine an interestrate for the bank account; and make a periodic payment to the bankaccount based on the interest rate and the bank account's balance. 16.The apparatus of claim 15, in which the computer readable medium storesinstructions which, when executed by the processor, direct the processorto generate a user interface which permits a player to specify thecompletion of a task that defines an obligation under a contract.